Friend Or Foe?
Dr. Kate Fitzgerald’s research has explored humans’ innate immunity. But it’s a double-edged sword—the same capacity that enables our bodies to recognize and vanquish infection or disease also drives inflammation.
Researchers
Below are researchers funded by the Kenneth Rainin Foundation who are working in cell biology.
Phillip Messersmith, PhD
Professor; University of California, Berkeley; Former Grantee
The Messersmith lab studies structure-processing-property relationships of materials in biological systems and uses this information to inform the design, synthesis and application of biologically inspired synthetic materials for tissue repair and regeneration.
Shruti Naik, PhD
Associate Professor, Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, Current Grantee
The Naik Lab studies immunity in epithelial tissues to understand how environmental stimuli and genetic factors influence health and drive disease. Their work centers on host-microbe interactions, immune-tissue crosstalk, inflammatory memory and translational research.
Vivek Rudrapatna, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor; University of California, San Francisco; Current Grantee
Dr. Rudrapatna’s research applies data mining and artificial intelligence technologies to health care data to uncover information that could improve decision making and lead to better outcomes for patients, with a particular focus on IBD.
Eran Segal, PhD
Faculty, Weizmann Institute of Science, Former Grantee
Dr. Segal is part of a multi-disciplinary lab of computational biologists and scientists focusing on microbiome, nutrition, genetics, and gene regulation in health and disease.
Jamie Spangler, PhD
Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins University, Current Grantee
The Spangler lab aims to expand the repertoire of protein therapeutics by redesigning naturally occurring proteins and engineering new molecules to overcome the deficiencies of existing drugs.
Xu Zhou, PhD
Assistant Professor, Boston Children's Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Current Grantee
The Zhou lab studies tissue-level homeostasis and inflammation, and uses interdisciplinary approaches to understand how immune cells communicate with their neighbors and surrounding environment.
