immunology

The Vanderbilt Center for Immunobiology has relaunched its mission with a greater focus on human immunology, an endeavor supported by additional researchers, more funding support and designation as a Center of Excellence.

Louise Rollins-Smith and colleagues are exploring how a deadly fungus counters the amphibian immune response and contributes to declining worldwide amphibian populations.

Ariel Deutch and colleagues have discovered that overactive brain immune cells during adolescence may contribute to schizophrenia.

Mark Boothby and colleagues are exploring the factors that contribute to antibody production and quality, which are key to our defense against pathogens and response to vaccines.

Vanderbilt researchers led by Eric Skaar are probing the mechanisms bacteria use when faced with nutrient starvation — a host defense strategy called “nutritional immunity.”

An international team involving Vanderbilt researchers has discovered that a new “checkpoint” protein on immune system cells is active in tumors, and that blocking it — in combination with other treatments — is a successful therapeutic approach in mouse models of cancer.

Using sophisticated gene sequencing and computing techniques, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the San Diego Supercomputer Center have achieved a first-of-its-kind glimpse into how the body’s immune system gears up to fight off infection.