Dr. Davis is currently a member of the Department of Internal Medicine and Harold C. Simmons Arthritis Research Center and faculty of the Immunolgy Graduate Program. The Davis laboratory has focused on mechanisms regulating T lymphocyte activation and differentiation. The laboratory has also developed an interest in the altered immune responses observed in patients with autoimmune diseases. The laboratory currently has two main areas of investigation. First, they are interested in understanding human CD4+ T cell differentiation and cytokine production. These studies evaluate the influences, such as antigen-presenting cells, that direct T helper cell differentiation. Other studies attempt to examine the role of CD4+ T cells in the perpetuation of chronic inflammatory diseases. A second area of investigation involves the search for new markers of human autoimmunity and disease severity. For these studies, both innate and immune subsets of blood cells from patients with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosis are compared to healthy controls by gene expression profiling and extensive phenotyping. These studies will elucidate molecular pathways that are altered by autoimmune diseases and could identify novel therapeutic targets.
