Faculty

Research in the Anderson Lab is centered on mechanisms of immune regulation in two inflammatory disease contexts, autoimmunity and cancer. In autoimmunity, a dysregulated immune response attacks self-tissue whereas in cancer a suppressed immune response fails to clear transformed self-tissue. The study of two inflammatory diseases that are counterpoints of each other enables discovery of fundamental mechanisms of immune regulation that can be translated for therapeutic benefit. The Anderson Lab leverages genomics and computation to identify signaling circuits that operate at the tissue level in these diseases to shape immune responses. Specific areas of focus include unraveling regulatory networks underlying functional T cell states, studying impact of hormone signaling on immune homeostasis and responses to immune-based therapeutics, interrogating cell-cell communication circuits, deciphering the impact of age on immunity, and translating observations to human disease.

As a core faculty member of the Gene Lay Institute, Dr. Anderson directs the Cancer Program, which is focused on harnessing the immune system to address unmet needs, specifically cancer-immune evasion and mechanisms underlying early-onset cancer. The Gene Lay Institute Cancer Program Flagship Project on early-onset cancer focuses on the two prototypical early-onset cancers that are most common in men and women under 50 years of age, colon cancer and triple-negative breast cancer, respectively.

Laboratory website:  https://anacandersonlab.com/

The Nowarski lab studies the multicellular control of protective immune responses within tissues, and how dysregulated tissue-immune interactions drive chronic inflammation. Their studies consider both how biogeography dictates cellular crosstalk, as well as how key immune mediators and metabolites orchestrate tissue adaptation to inflammation.  Focusing on the function of macrophages and fibroblasts, they strive to better understand the impact of inflammation on tissues, with the goal of developing new therapeutic approaches for inflammatory bowel disease, sepsis and fibrosis. As a core faculty member of The Gene Lay Institute, Dr. Nowarski’s laboratory is working to advance our understanding of tissue inflammation in order to target the mechanisms underlying chronic inflammatory diseases.

Laboratory website:  https://www.nowarskilab.com/

The Hemberg laboratory is a computational genomics group focused on developing machine learning methods that will provide new insights both for basic biology as well as for understanding how aberrant gene regulation plays a role in cancer, neurodegeneration, and other diseases. The lab seeks to develop scalable, robust, rigorous computational tools for tackling important biological problems. Specifically, the lab is interested in areas involving single-cell analysis, including multi-omics assay, spatial methods, and datasets from population studies. The Hemberg group is highly collaborative, working on projects related to vaccine responses, cancer, IBD, and various autoimmune diseases.

As a core faculty member, Dr. Hemberg directs The Gene Lay Institute Computational Platform, which is seamlessly integrated with the Genomics platform to provide remote backup of raw data, automated analyses, and customized downstream workflows. The Platform provides access to multiple workflows through the cloud for analyzing various modalities, including single-cell RNAseq, bulk RNAseq, TCRseq, BCRseq, ATACseq, and spatial transcriptomics. Under Dr. Hemberg’s leadership, the Computational Platform is constantly evolving to offer the most novel and comprehensive analytical tools to allow researchers to get the most out of their data.

Laboratory website:  https://hemberg-lab.github.io/

The objective of the Wheeler lab’s research program is to study brain-immune interactions that control behavior and neuropsychiatric diseases, asking how these processes are shaped in the context of (1) immune aging and (2) tissue inflammation. Along these lines, the lab aims to identify novel mechanisms and develop new tools to study the molecular mechanisms regulating cross-talk among structural cells in the brain called glia, brain circuits, and the immune system. To address these questions the lab uses mouse genetics, genomics (and other ‘omics), mouse behavior, actuator technologies, and human samples as well as new single-cell and molecular genetic tools that we developed to study neuroimmune communication. Specifically, the research program is organized around the following themes: immune aging and mood disorders and behavioral changes linked with tissue inflammation.

In addition to the academic contributions of the Wheeler lab, Dr. Wheeler is the faculty director of the Genomics Platform at the Gene Lay Institute. Under Dr. Wheeler’s leadership, the platform has established cutting-edge, automated platforms for the processing of pre-clinical and clinical samples obtained by Institute investigators.

Laboratory website:  https://www.thewheelerlab.org/