The Fitzgerald lab is focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms controlling the inflammatory response. We are interested in determining how the immune system discriminates between pathogens, resident microflora and host molecules to both protect the host from infection and avoid damaging inflammatory diseases. We employ multifaceted approaches including immunology, biochemistry, molecular biology and genetics to understand these mechanisms.
The cerebellum facilitates learned, coordinated movements and corrects errors. Signals to execute these functions are carried by the large neurons of the cerebellar nuclei, which form the major premotor projection from the cerebellum.
Dr. Mucke’s research focuses on conditions that cause cognitive deficits, behavioral abnormalities and other major neurological alterations, including aging-related dementias, epilepsy and neuropsychiatric disorders. He uses transgenic mouse models and neural cultures to dissect the pathogenic pathways that lead from genetic and environmental risk factors to neurological abnormalities at the molecular, cellular, network and behavioral level. Experimental models are also used to develop and evaluate novel treatment strategies.
NIH has the honor of hosting world-renowned recording artist, actress, director and philanthropist Ms. Barbra Streisand for the Annual J. Edward Rall Cultural Lecture. Her presentation, “Taking Women’s Health to Heart: An Afternoon with Barbra Streisand,” will consist of opening remarks by Ms. Streisand and then move to a conversation between Ms. Streisand and NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins. Topics will include Ms. Streisand’s advocacy for including women in medical research and her role as the co-founder of the Women’s Heart Alliance.
To better understand and assist the immune system, my lab focuses on M. tuberculosis (Mtb), the leading cause of death from an infectious disease. Mtb has evolved to exploit human immunity, about which it must have much to teach us. Mtb can both elicit and withstand an immune response strong enough to liquefy lung and send forth infectious droplets that spread the disease. We study the biology of Mtb in the non-replicating states imposed by the sub-sterilizing host immune response and look for ways to overcome the phenotypic resistance to antibiotics that results.
Dr. Diez Roux is internationally known for her research on the social determinants of population health and the study of how neighborhoods affect health. Her work on neighborhood health effects has been highly influential in the policy debate on population health and its determinants. Her research areas include social epidemiology and health disparities, environmental health effects, urban health, psychosocial factors in health, cardiovascular disease epidemiology, and the use of multilevel methods.
The Lieberman laboratory has been in the forefront of developing RNAi-based therapeutics and using RNAi for genome-wide screening. They were the first to demonstrate that siRNAs could protect mice from disease. They developed methods to harness RNAi to inhibit herpes and HIV transmission in animal models. They have developed strategies for cell-targeted RNAi to treat viral infection, immune disease, and cancer. They are currently investigating tumor-targeted siRNAs for immunotherapy to activate tumor expression of neoantigens and avoid autoimmune side effects of checkpoint inhibitors.
Our laboratory studies structural plasticity in the adult mammalian brain. We are interested in identifying the environmental, hormonal and neural stimuli that drive changes in the number, shape and size of neurons, astrocytes and microglia. The ultimate goals of our work are to determine the functional consequences of structural plasticity and to identify factors that enhance plasticity and cell survival in the adult mammalian brain.
Yixian Zheng, Ph.D. Carnegie Institution for Science
I began my research career studying how microtubules regulate various cellular processes, especially microtubule assembly, mitotic spindle assembly, and chromosome segregation. As a Ph.D. student in Dr. Berl Oakley’s lab, my study of g-tubulin has inspired me to use biochemical approaches to investigate the mechanism of microtubule nucleation as a postdoctoral fellow in Drs. Bruce Alberts and Tim Mitchison’s labs at UCSF. This has led to the discovery of the g-tubulin ring complex (gTuRC) and the demonstration of its microtubule-nucleating activity from purified tubulins.
De’Broski R. Herbert, Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania
The Herbert lab investigates cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for the initiation of Type 2 immunity against gastrointestinal helminths and enteropathogenic bacteria. We are focused upon identification of novel cytokine/receptor interactions that regulate the cross-talk between epithelial and myeloid compartments leading to pathogen clearance and tissue repair.
This page was last updated on Tuesday, August 10, 2021
