RESEARCH FIELD

Neuroimmunology

Neuroimmunology investigates the bidirectional interactions between the nervous system and the immune system, a relationship far more extensive and dynamic than previously appreciated. Resident immune cells — particularly microglia, the brain's endogenous macrophages — continuously survey the CNS environment and engage in synapse pruning, phagocytosis of debris, and inflammatory signalling that profoundly shapes brain development, cognition, and neurological disease. Research encompasses neuroinflammation in multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, stroke, and traumatic brain injury; the gut-brain immune axis through which intestinal microbiota influence CNS inflammation; the blood-brain barrier as an immunological interface; and the role of peripheral immune cells infiltrating the CNS during disease. Single-cell transcriptomics has revealed remarkable diversity of microglial states in neurodegeneration. Intravital two-photon microscopy enables live imaging of immune cells in intact brain tissue. Funding comes from neurological disease foundations, NIH, ERC, and pharmaceutical companies targeting CNS inflammation.