Pukkila-Worley laboratory

The major goal of the Pukkila-Worley laboratory is to characterize mechanisms of immune homeostasis in intestinal epithelial cells. We aim to use these discoveries to identify innate immune pathways that can be exploited to develop new therapies, which can modulate host immune activity.

Our laboratory uses C. elegans as a discovery platform to define evolutionarily ancient mechanisms of pathogen sensing and immune activation. On the right, a photograph of a nematode that has been infected with the important human bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aerginosa, is shown. Individual bacteria can be visualized within the markedly distended intestinal lumen of the animals. Also shown is the whole lab at the major international meeting in our field.

@RPWlab