Research

Omid Akbari’s research is to: characterize and define acquired and innate immune response at mucosal surfaces such as lung and gut; investigate the mechanisms underlying the regulation of those responses; explore the mechanisms by which those responses contribute to inflammatory, allergic diseases and asthma; and determine means by which those responses can be specifically manipulated
(http://uscmmi.com/omidakbarilab/)

Paula Cannon’s research is focused on gene therapy, hematopoietic stem cells and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Expertise in the laboratory lies in gene editing and humanized mice.

Si-Yi Chen’s main research interests include identifying key negative regulators controlling antigen presentation by dendritic cells (DCs) and mechanistically investigating the roles of these regulators in control of innate and adaptive immunity; creating innovative technologies and approaches for the development of immunotherapies against cancer; and developing novel approaches for the prevention and treatment of HIV infection.

Lucio Comai’s research program investigates the molecular basis of human aging. The current focus is on the identification of the cellular processes responsible for the development of Werner syndrome (WS) and Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria syndrome (HGPS), two genetic diseases of accelerated aging.

Hyungjin Eoh’s research interest in discovery of novel anti-tuberculosis drugs using metabolomics.

Dr. He’s research is focused on IL-17 producing T lymphocytes (also known as Th17 cells) which mediate pathogenic immunity involved in autoimmune diseases and participate in protective immunity against bacterial and fungal infections.

Martin Kast’s research is focused on developing new and effective therapies for cervical cancer, prostate cancer and melanoma. These cancers express unique tumor-specific or tumor-associated antigens to which the lab directs T cell immune responses via DNA, RNA, protein or peptide-based vaccines or by retroviral mediated transfer of T cell receptors.

Joseph Landolph’s research focus is molecular mechanisms of chemical and environmental carcinogens. His laboratory studies the molecular mechanisms and molecular and cell biology of chemically-induced morphological and neoplastic transformation of murine and human fibroblasts.

Ha Youn Lee’s research is focused on HIV vaccine design and HIV genomic incidence assays.

Jie Li teaches medical microbiology and host responses to human infections.

Brian Luna is interested in the study of antibiotic tolerance mechanisms by bacterial pathogens; including both antibiotic resistance and antibiotic persister cell formation. Better understanding of antibiotic tolerance mechanisms will guide improved therapeutic strategies for combating these infections.

Keigo Machida’s research is focused on host-pathogen interactions to identify the mechanism of HCV-associated HCC, molecular virology of lymphotropic HCV in viral persistence and pathogenesis, and cancer biology in liver oncogenesis generated from tumor-initiating cells (TICs: “bad seeds” of treatment-resistant HCC) induced by interactions between environmental factors (alcohol, obesity) and HCV. The long term goal is to test new therapeutic modalities for HCC in HCV-infected patients with alcoholism and/or obesity.

Peter Mullen studies how whole-body metabolism alters respiratory virus replication, cancer progression and aging. By elucidating specific requirements for different nutrients, the Mullen lab aims to identify and develop novel strategies that reduce disease and increase lifespan.

James Ou’s research is centered on hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and liver cancer. The Ou lab is particularly interested in understanding how these two viruses interact with their host cells and how they cause liver diseases. They are also interested in understanding the mechanisms of hepatocarcinogenesis.

Julia Qu’s research focuses on the basic and translational aspects of human lung diseases. Through both experimental studies and mining big data, the lab investigates signaling pathways, such as the NF-kappaB, STAT signaling, in lung physiology and pathogenesis, for the prevention, prognosis, and treatment of lung diseases, particularly lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death.

The Schönthal lab performs preclinical cancer research and pursues anticancer drug development. The main focus is on brain malignancies, which include primary brain cancers (such as glioblastoma) and secondary brain cancers (such as melanoma or breast cancer that has spread to the brain). The work is done in collaboration with Dr. Thomas Chen, a neurosurgeon and Director of the USC Brain Tumor Group. This joint approach supports interdisciplinary efforts that translate laboratory findings to patient applications.

Our laboratory is interested in post-transcriptional regulation. Currently we study miRNA synthesis and function in the sickle cell disease model. The second area of interest examines the biological significance of protein arginine methylation of translation initiation factors.

Gutian Xiao‘s research is focusing on the discovery and elucidation of immuno-oncology signaling pathways for the prognosis, prevention and treatment of human lung cancer, lung infection and lung diseases, using mouse and human co-clinical models and state-of-the-art technologies and instruments.

Bingfei Yu‘s research focused on decoding intercellular immune recognition and intracellular molecular programming to advance immunotherapies for cancer, autoimmunity, and infectious diseases. We employ single-cell genomics, synthetic biology, and systems immunology to study the fundamental principles of how immune cells integrate antigen specificity and environmental cues to mount effective immune responses.

Weiming Yuan’s research aims to harness a critical group of innate T cells, NKT cells for anti-cancer and anti-anti-viral therapies.

Ebrahim Zandi’s research involves the use of proteomics and other omic technologies to understand the function of microbiome in Ulcerative Colitis as well as chemo- and immune-therapy in cancer patients.