Jeremy Chase Crawford Lab

Integrative approaches to immunology

Immune variation, at baseline and in response to immune challenge, is dynamically influenced by unique and interactive effects of intrinsic and extrinsic host factors. Despite the extreme variation in immune parameters across the human population, they sometimes vary in consistent ways. Recent conceptual advances in systems immunology suggest that by considering the collective states of numerous immune parameters, or the so-called immunotype, we can better deconvolute not just the complex relationships between immune variation, intrinsic factors, and extrinsic factors, but also the emergent properties of the broader immune system.

T cells are adaptive immune cells that mediate anti-tumor responses. Understanding the minutia of T cell biology allows us to identify and characterize clinically relevant T cell phenotypes, informs strategies for T cell engineering for cellular immunotherapies and even helps predict T-cell antigen specificity. Our work encompasses a variety of genomic, molecular, and computational methods to provide a more comprehensive understanding of these important immune cells. 

Pathogens can cause serious health complications, especially for vulnerable populations such as children with cancer. Understanding the basic science behind a pathogen’s strategy for host colonization and the host’s subsequent immune response informs clinical treatment strategies. 

We use cellular biology, molecular biology, and bioinformatics to better understand the impacts of viral infection and inflammation on cellular function. We have also used spatial transcriptomics to characterize cellular responses to infections through space and time. Our team is skilled at compiling large, multimodal datasets from large human cohorts and analyzing them to identify predictors of disease severity and protection.