Center Faculty
Research in the Center focuses on inflammation and injury, metabolism, and cancer biology. See faculty profiles for further details.
Research Interests: COMMD proteins: Dr. Burstein studies the regulation of endosomal protein sorting and immune function by members of this protein family. Genetics of inflammatory disorders: His lab investigates the genetic basis of disorders of immune function, particularly affecting the GI tract Mucosal immunity and immune-tumor interactions in the GI tract.
Research Interests: Dr. Chen uses biochemistry, biophysics, and structural biology to study the cytoskeleton, intracellular trafficking, and mebrane protein signaling.
Research Interests: Dr. Fudman focuses on inflammatory bowel disease and quality improvement.
Research Interests: Dr. Hoshida studies liver cancer, liver cirrhosis, molecular classification, precision medicine, and prognostic prediction.
Research Interests: Dr. Kong focuses on celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, inborn errors of immunity, and rare liver diseases.
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Dr. Maddipati investigates cancer genetics, cancer metastasis, high-risk and hereditary cancer screening, pancreatic cancer, and pancreatitis.
Research Interests: Dr. Najafov focuses on anti-tumor immunity, cancer, immunogenic cell death, immunotherapy, and necroptosis signaling.
Research Interests: Dr. Ni seeks to predictably engineer the microbiota to treat intestinal diseases using a pipeline based on next-generation sequencing of patient-derived samples. coupled with bacterial genetics
Research Interests: Dr. Patel asks fundamental questions about how the liver works, and by doing so he hopes to gain new insights into the metabolic causes and consequences of liver disease with the ultimate goal of developing new clinical therapies. His laboratory has a particular interest in hepatic metabolism and its regulation by the immune system. We utilize genetic, epigenetic and proteomic approaches, combined with detailed physiological studies, to understand the complex mechanisms that causally link inflammation to metabolic dysfunction in obesity and fatty liver disease.
Research Interests: Dr. Poojary investigates colon cancer, gut microbiota, inflammasome, inflammatory bowel diseases, and Th17/Treg differentiation.
Hans-Christian Reinecker, M.D.
Research Interests: Dr. Reinecker focuses on control of adaptive host-defenses by Schlafen family proteins; controlling innate and adaptive immune responses by Sensor Stimulator of Interferon Genes (STING); developing strategies to induce anti-tumor immunity for cancer immunotherapy; and targeting intracellular microtubule based microbial pattern recognition to control disease mechanisms of inflammatory bowel diseases.
Luis Sifuentes-Dominguez, M.D.
Research Interests: Dr. Sifuentes-Dominguez seeks to identify the genetic causes of early onset inflammatory bowel disease and the role of enteroendocrine cells in its pathogenesis.
Research Interests: Dr. Turer focuses on apoptotic and inflammatory signaling, intestinal epithelial cell biology, and mucosal immunology.
Research Interests: Dr. Yin seeks to understand the mechanisms of inflammatory bowel disease and relevant clinical implications.