The objective of our laboratory is to harness our understanding of the innate immune system to develop novel therapies against cancer and inflammatory diseases.

We focus on innate immune sensors called dendritic cells and macrophages because of their unique ability to sense and respond to tissue injury by producing inflammatory mediators that help eliminate the injury and restore tissue integrity. Dendritic cells also have the ability to induce adaptive and long-term memory immunity against specific tissue antigens.

In particular, we study the biology of dendritic cells and macrophages that reside in cancer tissues and inflammatory lesions to understand whether specific defects in these cells contribute to disease pathogenesis and whether dendritic cells and macrophage defects could be restored to cure cancer and inflammatory disease. Our research is funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Heart, Lung and, Blood Institute (NHLBI),  the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) and the Histiocytosis American Association (HAA).