B cell Dysregulation in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease that remains among the most difficult to control, and so represents a leading cause of mortality in young women, especially in minority communities.

The genetic contribution to SLE is high (up to 66%). Genetic studies have uncovered >90 susceptibility variants for SLE, the vast majority of which are non-coding. There are strong indications that these variants affect gene regulation in activated B cells. However, for most of them, which genes they affect an in which environmental condition remains a mystery.

We study how SLE risk variants affect gene regulation in B cells during activation, and how these might contribute to the vast clinical heterogeneity in SLE. We achieve this by performing bulk and single-cell RNA-seq, ATAC-seq and other omic assays in both healthy individuals and patients.

This is in collaboration with the Nigrovic lab.

Functional Genomics of Axial Spondyloarthritis

Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) and its subset ankylosing spondylitis (AS) affect about 1% of the US population. Multiple lines of evidence indicate that axSpA is a lymphocyte-driven disease. However, which lymphocyte populations are critical in axSpA pathogenesis is unknown.

We are taking functional genomics approaches to answer this question, utilizing genetics, epigenomics, RNA-seq and single-cell technologies from patients and healthy controls. A fine-grained understanding of the cells driving inflammation in axSpA/AS will be key to the development of more effective treatments.

This is in collaboration with the Ermann lab.

Cellular Dynamics of Asthma and Allergic Diseases

Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) and asthma are chronic conditions that affect millions of people, and cost over $5 billion annually in healthcare in the US.

We seek to understand the mechanisms of CRSwNP and aspirin exacerbated respiratory disease at a multi-omic molecular and cellular level, using mouse models and patient samples.

We are collaborating with the Divisions of Allergy and Rheumatology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital.