Posts classified under: Faculty

PhD in Chemistry (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

We use chemical biology to uncover biochemical mechanisms in innate immunity and, in parallel, develop therapeutic hypotheses and lead compounds. Innate immune pathways as the first line of defense against pathogens present many exciting opportunities for chemical biologists. These pathways are a rich source of novel chemistry: they involve diverse molecular patterns in pathogens, little-explored second messengers, and drugs with poorly understood mechanism. Activation of innate immunity is a proven therapeutic strategy for vaccination, viral infection, and cancer, while inhibition is a strategy for treating autoimmune diseases and sterile inflammation. To date, however, most modulators of innate immunity are broad, non-specific, and poorly characterized, such as killed bacteria, alum crystals, and steroids. The Li lab seeks to improve understanding of these pathways and facilitate the development of more precise drugs for preventing or treating specific diseases.

MD and PhD in Biochemistry (University of Chicago)

The Krasnow Lab uses genetic and genomic approaches to elucidate, at single-cell resolution, the genetic programs that control development, renewal, and regeneration of the lung. We are especially interested in stem cells and how their behaviors are controlled in three dimensions to generate functional tissue, and in using this information to understand and treat lung disease and to regenerate a lung. We use similar approaches to map the breathing pacemaker and neural circuit of breathing and to identify breathing arrhythmias.

We have also established an international consortium and a laboratory in Madagascar, partnering with Malagasy students and scientists, to determine the feasibility of the mouse lemur as a new genetic model organism and to provide a model for hands-on biomedical education and training in developing countries that strengthens their special talents and preserves and enhances their unique natural resources.

PhD in Neuroscience (MIT)

PhD in Biochemistry (Stanford University)

We aim to devise new strategies to enable vaccine creation, and to create vaccines for some important infectious diseases, including HIV-1, pandemic influenza, and Ebola. We are also working to develop a room-temperature stable vaccine that provides durable and broad protection against SARS-CoV-2, with affordable worldwide access. Our research is primarily focused on antibody-mediated immune responses. As such, we investigate antigen-antibody interactions using biochemical, biophysical, and structural biological methods. We also interrogate B cell responses to vaccine candidates using single-cell sequencing methods to understand the germline B cells that are stimulated and the resultant somatic hypermutation.