Immune system

Benayoun, Bérénice

Associate Professor of Gerontology, Cancer Biology, Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences

My lab explores understudied influences (e.g. biological sex and reproductive status) on gene regulation across key biological systems, with a particular interest in the aging brain and innate immunity (e.g. neutrophils, macrophages, microglia). Sex-dimorphic processes can have a major and lasting influence on somatic health, yet, this exciting question is still dramatically understudied, with few studies looking at the influence of biological sex as a focal point of interest, thus ignoring a major contributor to health disparities in human populations.

Borner, Tito

Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences

The whole of his research career focuses on deepening our understanding of how nerve cells control food intake under both normal physiological conditions and when conditions go awry, such as when disease sets in. His overarching research goal is to investigate and identify the components and pathways within the central nervous system that mediate anorexia (loss of appetite), nausea, vomiting (emesis), and weight loss in pre-clinical models. This exploration focuses on understanding how these symptoms manifests after various diseases and, importantly, how they can be prevented, which special emphasis on chronic conditions such as cancer and diabetes.

Braskie, Meredith

Assistant Professor of Neurology

We use neuroimaging, fluid biomarkers, environmental and genetic risk factors, and comorbidities to better understand Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk - particularly the mechanisms underlying earliest brain characteristics that may signal or contribute to future cognitive decline. I am especially interested in the contributions of vascular, metabolic, and inflammatory risk to AD-relevant brain measures in older adults. I am also interested in disease heterogeneity and how it relates to health disparities and sex differences.

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