A new technique will allow researchers to track subsets of immune cells that patrol and defend the lungs, to better understand the roles of these cells during lung inflammation, infection and injury.

Understanding how hellbenders — large, fully aquatic salamanders — fight fungal pathogens and disease is important for protecting these unique stream predators; Vanderbilt researchers add new insights.

Vanderbilt researchers developed a novel method to measure small RNAs carried by HDL and demonstrated that these molecules circulate in greater concentrations than previously believed and are likely to contribute to communication between immune cells.

Vanderbilt researchers show that a TLR4 agonist improves lung immune response and survival in a mouse model of bacterial pneumonia, supporting the development of this drug to protect against pneumonia in hospitalized patients.

New Vanderbilt research could inform therapeutic strategies for enhancing thymic function when desired — such as during aging, recovery from radiation therapy or chemotherapy, or other conditions that reduce T cell output.

In a technical tour de force, a collaborative team of Vanderbilt researchers has characterized the antigen-specific immune response to the Pfizer SARS-CoV-2 RNA vaccine.