This week we profile a recent publication in Nature from the lab of Dr. Francisco Quintana (pictured) at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and the Broad Institute.
Can you provide a brief overview of your lab’s current research focus?
The Quintana lab is focused on investigating the mechanisms that control the immune response and inflammation in the context of autoimmunity, neurodegeneration and brain tumors, with the goal of identifying therapeutic targets and developing novel therapies.
What is the significance of the findings in this publication?
Our studies describe a novel platform which can be used for the screening and optimization of small molecules that control intestinal inflammation, as well as inflammation in other tissues including the CNS. These studies also identified a specific signaling pathway which could be therapeutically targeted with multiple approaches, including small molecules.
What are the next steps for this research?
To further define mechanisms involved in the regulation of inflammation and evaluate the therapeutic potential of molecules identified in this and related studies using multiple modalities, including small molecules and engineered probiotics.
If you’d like to mention your funding sources, please list them.
These studies were funded by NIH, the NMSS society and the International Progressive MS Alliance.