Dr. Maxim Cheeran PhD

This laboratory primarily investigates investigates the role of neuroimmune responses in pathogenesis of acute and chronic brain disease. The primary objective of the research program is to elucidate mechanisms by which innate and adaptive immune responses alter the neurological outcomes of brain disease. The researchers utilize well-characterized animal models of SARS-CoV-2 infection, traumatic brain injury (TBI), ischemic brain injury (stroke), Alzheimer's disease (AD), and brain tumors, to study the role of macrophages and T lymphocytes in neurodegenerative disease processes. Their experimental protocols utilize both in vitro and in vivo models to investigate mechanisms by which immune cues are generated and how they alter reparative functions in the brain. The group's main goal is to identify novel points of intervention to prevent or repair the long-term neurological damage associated with these brain diseases primarily by manipulating the interactions of the brain with the immune response..

In addition to CNS diseases, the laboratory studies viral pathogens that infect the gastrointestinal and respiratory epithelium. They investigate the dynamics and persistence of innate and adaptive immune responses generated at the mucosal surfaces to understand the local mechanisms that afford protection. Part of the effort on these projects is dedicated to standardizing immune assays and developing new reagents to study infectious diseases in production animals. The laboratory has several successful collaborations with aquaculture scientist, engineers, and veterinary infectious disease experts, to build novel point of care devices for diagnosis of pathogens that affect the respiratory and digestive system. The researchers have developed monoclonal antibodies to identify and distinguish strains of a fish Rhabdovirus, Viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (unpublished), and more recently developed antibodies that identify Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and distinguish them from the commensals that reside in the respiratory tract of pigs. These reagents are expected to not only improve the ability to investigate immune determinants that provide protection at the mucosal surface but also to understand the impact of immune pressure in driving strain emergence and in acquisition of pathogen traits to escape host recognition.