Harvard Catalyst Profiles

The interests of my laboratory in the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the Forsyth Institute are to understand the control mechanisms and in vivo function of effector T cells in the pathogenesis of several autoimmune diseases, in order to develop effective and targeted therapeutic approaches for these diseases. One particular interest is the control T cell autoimmune responses by cytokines during the pathogenesis and chronic persistence of Sjogren’s syndrome. Sjogren’s syndrome (SS) is a prevalent chronic autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation and dysfunction of exocrine glands. SS patients suffer from dry mouth, dry eyes and systemic inflammation that can be debilitating and severely compromise the physical and mental health of the patients. Auto-reactive effector T cells of various types collaboratively mediate and orchestrate the autoimmune processes that cause the onset and persistence of SS, and the effects of these auto-reactive T cells are crucially mediated or controlled by a panel of cytokines. By using both mouse models and human samples and combining in vivo and in vitro approaches, we will investigate the regulation of T cell function by cytokines and their role in the pathogenesis and chronic persistence of SS, and develop strategies that target these pathogenic players to ameliorate or reverse this disease. Other interests of our lab include the molecular control of T cell function in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease, and the anti-inflammatory and immune-regulatory function of IL-6. Our research will provide critical foundations for the development of effective novel therapies to treat various autoimmune diseases.