Research

Establishing niche-specific macrophage fates

Resident immune cells remain localized to distinct tissue niches and adopt unique functions to support local homeostasis. Selective loss of these niche-specific cells leads to inflammation and tissue dysfunction. Despite this fundamental insight, it remains unclear how these cells selectively establish a resident fate to contribute to local tissue health. Utilizing multiphoton intravital microscopy in the mouse skin, the lab aims to identify the sequence of cellular behaviors and molecular cues that drive immune cell recruitment and integration into a tissue niche.

Wound-induced immune cell dynamics

Following tissue injury and immune cell recruitment, a tissue can either (1) form a scar or (2) regenerate the lost tissue structures. In mammalian skin, immune cells (including macrophages) can drive both scarring and regenerative outcomes. Therefore, the lab aims to identify the early tissue dynamics and molecular signals of immune cells that yield a permissive environment for regenerative outcomes, which can be leveraged to overcome current limitations in tissue regeneration.

Immune cell development, aging and tissue dysfunction

Aged tissues contain dysfunctional immune cells that contribute to impaired wound healing and pathogen clearance. However, the source of these age-associated immunological defects remains unclear. (1) When are immune cells first established during development and when do they functional change with age? (2) Do aged tissues drive immune cell dysfunction or do aged immune cells locally corrupt a tissue over time? To address these questions, we propose to leverage novel spatial transcriptomic approaches in mammalian skin to unify immune cell transcription, location, and behavior across life from postnatal development through aging.