Mia Phillipson

Immune cells have essential roles in protecting the host against invaders and are vital for survival. However, detrimental inflammation contributes to the majority of diseases and increased knowledge of the mechanisms regulating immune cell recruitment and activation is central to limit the inflammatory response. Theoverall aim of the research conducted in my laboratory is to uncover novel roles of immune cells and to find means to regulate their specific functions in settings spanning from organ development and regulation of homeostasis to tissue healing, angiogenesis and inflammation. By employing state of the art techniques for studies of immune cell trafficking and interactions in vivo, we are delineating how immune cells are behaving in distinct organs and in different situations, as well as their diverse effector functions. Induction of specific recruitment and immune cell phenotype shifts by targeting the microenvironment is explored. Increased understanding of immune cell contribution to diverse situations would reveal novel strategies to prevent, control and treat diseases.