1. Regulatory mechanism of inflammation and drug development for immunomodulation
Microbial infections and tissue injury can trigger Inflammatory responses, which plays important functions in removing microbes and injured cells, as well as promoting tissue repair. However, uncontrolled inflammation may result in excessive infiltration of immune cells which produce enormous amount of cytokines, leading to cytokine storm, tissue injury and organ dysfunction, such as the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in COVID-19. In allergic and autoimmune diseases, continuous inflammation may cause irreversible tissue damages including fibrosis. In addition, inflammatory responses activated in the tumor microenvironment may promote tumorigenesis and suppress antitumor immune responses.
Research in my lab is focused on elucidating how inflammation is regulated, such as how inflammatory leukocytes (neutrophil, eosinophils, monocytes, etc.) can degrade the extracellular matrix and migrate to the inflamed tissue. We aim to identify key molecules regulating inflammation, which may serve as targets for developing new drugs to regulate inflammation associated with infection, injury, cancer, allergy, and autoimmune diseases.
2. Mucosal vaccine development
Most pathogens enter the body via mucosal surfaces, where specialized lymphoid tissues can mount immune responses against the invading microbes, for example, by secreting IgA antibodies to bind and neutralize microorganisms. When designing vaccines, it is desirable to deliver antigens and elicit immune responses at mucosal tissues on the respiratory or gastrointestinal tracts, where infectious agents can be cleared more effectively early during infection. We are aiming to develop novel adjuvants and delivery systems for mucosal vaccines.