DICI expertise is rooted in over a decade of studying innate immune responses in both humans and nonhuman primate (NHP) models. Throughout our efforts, we have made significant contributions to the fields of virology and immunology, including:

• First description and characterization of IL-17/IL-22-producing NKp44+ mucosa-restricted innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) in infection models, and delineation of mechanisms leading to their depletion during lentivirus infections.
• Pioneering work on antigen recall responses by adaptive NK cells, including the first evidence of NK cell memory in any primate species and description of human antigen-specific NK cell memory against HIV and influenza.
• First demonstration of the main mechanism underlying antigen-specific memory NK cell responses, involving recognition of viral antigens via the NKG2/HLA-E axis, and which is conserved against a wide range of viral infections including HIV/SIV, influenza, SARS-CoV-2, and polyomavirus infections.
• First evidence of robust NK cell responses against human polyomaviruses, revealing that NKG2D and its ligand ULBP2 play a key role in immune recognition of polyomavirus-infected cells by NK cells.
• Characterization of human and NHP granulocytic effector cells during chronic lentiviral infection, revealing depletion of jejunal eosinophils and vaginal neutrophils in SIV/SHIV-infected macaques.
• Investigation of plasmacytoid dendritic cell (pDC) dynamics during SIV infection, showing their systemic redistribution, accumulation in colon, jejunum, and gut-draining lymph nodes.
• Elucidation of mechanisms of NK cell dysfunctions in HIV and aging, including dysregulated signaling pathways and metabolic perturbations.
• Investigation of antiviral NK cells in the control of hepaciviral infections using small nonhuman primate models.
• Development of innovative research on the impact of climate change on immune resilience, exploring how climate-related stressors influence immune responses, with potential implications for vaccine efficacy and overall health outcomes. 
• State-of-the-art immune engineering approaches to enhance and modulate immune responses for therapeutic purposes, including CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, lentiviral vector-mediated delivery of transgenes or transfection of mRNA-LNP combined with the generation of cytokine-induced memory NK cells and clonally-expanded, therapeutically enhanced NK cells. 
• To quantify and qualify immune responses, we utilize the most cutting-eduge technologies, including spectral flow cytometry, RNA-seq, CITE-seq, mass spectrometry proteomics, multiplex imaging cytometry, and multiplex Luminex signaling.
• To achieve our goals, we have been consistently assembling study teams spanning a broad range of expertise beyond innate cellular immunology, leveraging the background and experience of local, national as well as international collaborators, including close collaborations within Duke Department of Surgery to study innate immunity in transplantation and immune resilience in surgical outcomes.  

Rhianna Jones
Senior Lab Research Analyst
2017 - present

Griffin Woolley
Scientific Program Leader I
2019 - present

Kyle Kroll
Bioinformatician
2017 - present

Karen Terry
Manager, Immunology and Molecular Biology
2022 - present

Harikrishnan Balachandran
Senior Lab Research Analyst
2022 - present

Sho Sugawara
Postdoctoral Associate
2019 - present

Philippe Rascle
Postdoctoral Associate
2021 - present

RJ Bouch
Postdoctoral Associate
2023 - present

Andrew Hudson
Lab Research Analyst I
2022 - present