Department of Microbiology & Immunology Seminar: “Complement and IFN-γ in Antifungal Defense and Autoimmunity: From the Bench to Patients”
Speaker:
Michail Lionakis, MD, ScD
Senior Investigator, Acting Chief, Laboratory of Host Immunity and Microbiome (LHIM)
Deputy Chief, Laboratory of Clinical Immunology & Microbiology (LCIM)
Chief, Fungal Pathogenesis Section, Laboratory of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology
NIAID, NIH
Location: Med-Dent NE301 and via Zoom
Abstract:
Dr. Lionakis will discuss how complement mediates antifungal host defense and how deficiency of complement impairs antifungal defenses and leads to fungal infections in humans. Moreover, he will be discussing how excess IFN-γ responses can impair mucosal defenses against fungi and multiorgan autoimmunity and how targeting these aberrant IFN-γ responses pharmacologically can protect from autoimmunity and mucosal fungal infection in humans.
Sponsored by the Georgetown University Department of Microbiology & Immunology.