The Center for Immunology and Inflammation focuses on understanding the basic biologic principles underlying the immune and inflammatory systems that protect us against infections and other environmental insults, as well as internal challenges, such as cancer. This protective system includes our evolutionarily primitive “innate immune response” to classes of infectious and other external challenges and our more developed “adaptive immune response” that more precisely targets elements of concern to our well-being.

When the body’s protective immune and inflammatory mechanisms go awry, significant disorders can arise ranging from seemingly mild conditions to those that are life threatening. Most human diseases involve misguided actions or imbalanced regulation of the immune and inflammatory systems. When immune and inflammatory responses are insufficient to deal with infectious and environmental insults, it can result in immunodeficiency disorders. Alternatively, when these responses are excessive and misguided, it can upset the body's state of balance and damage vital organs like the heart, lungs, kidneys, and liver.

Research programs in The Center for Immunology and Inflammation investigate inflammatory and immunological disease mechanisms that afflict individuals in every decade of life, from the perinatal phase through childhood/adolescence, adulthood, and the aging population. Center investigators carry out basic, translational, and patient-oriented research in areas encompassing molecular and cellular immunology, inflammation, host defense against infections, inflammatory conditions including sepsis and ischemia, allergic diseases, and immune deficiency. Immune and inflammatory diseases are a tremendous burden on humanity and gaining a better understanding of these systems will improve human health.

Email: BSherry@nshs.edu

Center Labs:

Laboratory of Cytokine Biology – Barbara Sherry, PhD

Laboratory of Medicinal Biochemistry – Christine Metz, PhD

Laboratory of Surgical Research  – Ping Wang, MD

Renal Molecular Research Laboratory – Pravin Singhal, MD

Laboratory of Renal Inflammation  – Howard Trachtman, MD

Laboratory of Host Defense – Vincent Bonagura, MD

Laboratory of Clinical Immunology – Robert Silverman, MD

Neonatal-Preinatal Medicine Research Laboratory – Dennis Davidson, MD  and Richard J. Schanler MD

Laboratory of Pediatric Infectious Disease Research – Lorry Rubin, MD