Roberto Ricardo Gonzalez, MD, PhD
Research on inflammatory diseases of the skin and other organ systems has led to therapeutics that mitigate chronic inflammation. However, how inflammation influences single cells at the tissue level to contribute to disease pathogenesis remains vastly unknown. Our goal is to decipher how inflammation affects not only the epithelial barrier, which can be a focal point of early disease pathology, but also dissect how other essential components of the tissue such as fibroblasts, endothelial cells, lymphatics, and others are individually affected during states of acute and chronic inflammation. We leverage our expertise in tissue biology, immunology, microscopy, and multi-omics analyses to perform assays that test physiologic functions of barrier tissues to uncover new insights into tissue homeostasis. In addition, we use models of adoptive transfer of ILCs to evaluate their therapeutic potential and determine how these cells can promote beneficial tissue inflammation or serve as adjuvant therapies against cancer. Finally, we aim to discover novel ways to manipulate detrimental immune-'niche' crosstalk to develop therapeutic interventions to ameliorate chronic inflammatory diseases.
Ongoing research efforts include:
- Elucidating how immune cells and their outputs alter tissue niche composition and molecular networks in homeostasis and disease.
- Dissecting molecular mechanisms of how type 2 immunity co-opts allergic and regenerative immune functions to preserve and protect tissue function from the detrimental effects of chronic pathogenic inflammation.
- Exploring the use of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) as adjuvant therapies to treat infection and cancer and understand principles of tissue residency and adaptation