The Laboratory of Mucosal Immunology was established at the University of California, San Diego in 1985.  The overall objective of the laboratory is to characterize and define acquired and innate immune responses at mucosal surfaces, investigate the mechanisms underlying their regulation, explore the mechanisms by which those responses contribute to mucosal disease (e.g. Inflammatory bowel disease, Celiac disease) and determine means by which those responses can be specifically manipulated.

 

Immune responses at mucosal surfaces play a major role in host mucosal defense against microbial pathogens and in the pathogenesis of acute and chronic mucosal inflammatory diseases. The laboratory draws on a broad spectrum of molecular biologic, biochemical, and immunogenetic approaches in combination with human and murine in vitro cell culture and in vivo model systems to address questions in mucosal immunity.