Antimicrobial-resistance is a growing global health concern with deaths from antimicrobial-resistant infections predicted to outnumber cancer deaths by the year 2050. Our group postulates that, in addition to understanding the evolution of antimicrobial resistance and developing new antimicrobial drugs, controlling innate immune cell function could be an effective way to combat infection. However, to precisely control cell function, we first need a better understanding of the signals that drive the innate immune response to infection.
Our group works at the intersection of engineering and immunology to design microfluidic models of the infectious microenvironment inspired by in vivo biology. We then use these models to investigate how multicellular interactions, the physical environment, and soluble signals drive immune cell recruitment to an infection. This work is carried out with the goal of discovering new targets to control immune cell recruitment, resolution, and anti-microbial function.
