The Orvedahl Lab at WashU Medicine combines hypothesis-driven and discovery-based approaches to investigate the factors that regulate host immune responses to severe inflammation, whether triggered by infections or sterile events.
Our lab investigates how immune responses are regulated to prevent fatal reactions by identifying key genes and pathways, using both in vitro and in vivo methods. We found that autophagy protects macrophages from cytokine-induced cell death and prevents fatal cytokine storm syndrome in mice, with a notable link to immunometabolism. Our goal is to develop host-directed therapies for infectious and inflammatory disorders.
