The overarching question we try to answer is why only some people get allergies. (but also why they are becoming more common)
A maladaptive recognition of generally innocuous environmental proteins i.e., allergens, as 'dangerous' signal triggers a pathogenic type 2 immune response in allergic individuals. This sets an immunogenic tone rather than a regulatory tone in the airways. My laboratory aims to understand the mechanisms that drive allergic diseases and how dysregulation of innate immune pathways leads to an aberrant type 2 pathological response to allergens.
[Picture]
Lightsheet imaging of cleared lung (green=airways, white=macrophages, orange=iron-rich macrophages)