Purpose

Mucosal Immunology Studies Team

The Mucosal Immunology Studies Team (MIST) is made up of the grant recipients of the NIAID's Immune Defense Mechanisms at the Mucosa Cooperative Study Group (RFA-AI-15-023). The team's focus is on immune defense mechanisms and immune regulation at mucosal surfaces including respiratory, gastrointestinal and urogenital tract mucosa.

The purpose of this program is to discover and define novel basic immune mechanisms, cells, mediators, and pathways that provide a more sophisticated understanding of mucosal immune defense mechanisms; to explore innovative hypotheses; and to address difficult unsolved questions in mucosal immunity. The ultimate goal is to develop the knowledge base needed to facilitate future development of vaccines and immunotherapies to protect mucosal surfaces from infection and immune-mediated pathology.

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Background
Project Investigators

Photo: Scanning electron microscopy image colorized to demonstrate the interactions between uropathogenic E. coli (pink), the epithelium (blue), and the innate immune system (yellow) at the urinary bladder mucosal surface in a mouse model of urinary tract infection. Photo Credit: Hultgren laboratory and the Center for Cellular Imaging (WUCCI), Washington University in St. Louis.