Andrew Gelman, PhD
Jacqueline G. and William E. Maritz Professor of Surgery, Pathology and Immunology
Washington University
Neutrophils are critical mediators of innate immunity but tend to be ignored by most scientists as they are thought of as passive “bags” of enzymes that kill pathogens. However, recent work in our laboratory has identified novel mechanisms that protect lungs from neutrophil-mediated injury by regulating the activity of neutrophil bone marrow progenitors. We are also working on uncovering mechanisms through which neutrophils control alloimmune responses as well as how they regulate lung allograft rejection following infection. Our translational work stems from our collaborations with several biotech companies. We are presently involved in the pre-clinical development of inhibitors of toll-like receptors and CD39 and are testing their efficacy in preventing lung graft ischemia-reperfusion injury.