LJI Professor Hilde Cheroutre, Ph.D., is studying how autoreactive T cells mistakenly learn to recognize “self” in an organ called the thymus. These “educated” autoreactive T cells can actually help the body by regulating immune responses to cancer cells or infected cells. But under the wrong circumstances, a naïve T cell may encounter a self-antigen and spark an autoimmune response. Dr. Cheroutre and her team are working with doctors at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego to better understand how this process goes wrong. The team hopes to be able to identify the signs that an infant might be susceptible to autoimmune diseases and perhaps even prevent autoimmunity altogether.

LJI scientists have also received significant support from the Global Autoimmune Institute (GAI) to investigate the beginnings of autoimmune disease processes. In 2024, GAI granted funding to LJI faculty member Sam Myers, Ph.D., who now serves as LJI’s Global Autoimmune Institute Assistant Professor. The GAI funding also supported ongoing research by LJI Postdoctoral Researcher Greet Verstichel, M.D., Ph.D., into autoimmune disease mechanisms.

LJI Associate Professor Sonia Sharma, Ph.D., is studying inflammatory and autoimmune diseases that affect the vascular endothelium, the cells lining the blood vessels. Her laboratory integrates cutting-edge genetics, biochemistry, cell biology, computational and translational approaches to define the key genetic mechanisms regulating cellular innate immunity—and determine how these factors can trigger autoimmune disease.

LJI Professor Michael Croft, Ph.D., studies molecules involved in causing atopic dermatitis, severe asthma and fibrotic diseases caused by chronic inflammation. He has partnered successfully with several companies and his work has led to clinical trials for asthma and atopic dermatitis. 

LJI Professor Mitchell Kronenberg, Ph.D., is investigating how surface molecules and intracellular signaling pathways regulate immune cells that reside in the intestine.  These immune cells have a unique challenge because they must co-exist with a highly diverse microbiome. He studies how these cells maintain this peaceful co-existence while responding to pathogens. The loss of tolerance of good bacteria is a key step involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

Dr. Sette has also teamed up with LJI Professor Bjoern Peters, Ph.D., to build the Immune Epitope Database (IEDB), a publicly available online resource that includes data from researchers around the world. The IEDB is a valuable tool for studying the chemical aspects of what immune cells recognize when they make an immune response, including when they mistakenly target a person’s own organs in different autoimmune diseases.