Congratulations to Dr. Derek Pociask, Assistant Professor in the Section of Pulmonary Diseases, Critical Care, and Environmental Medicine on his award of an NIH R21 grant! Dr. Pociask's research is on identifying risk factors for severe pulmonary pneumonia and mortality during viral pandemics. He has identified the thymus and its continuous generation of new T cells as pivotal factors. This project aims to explore the anti-inflammatory properties of newly produced T cells from the thymus in viral pneumonia. Additionally, it utilizes innovative models to examine thymic aging in disease susceptibility.