The current goals of my research are to better understand lung immune responses during acute vs. chronic exposure to the opportunistic fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. During acute exposure, which is an infection model mimicking invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, our major focus is on the cytokine IL-22. Specifically, we investigate pathways that positively and negatively regulate IL-22 production as well as the antifungal immune pathways induced by IL-22. Themes in this area of investigation include common γ-chain cytokines, innate lymphocytes and eicosanoid biology. An important...
