CHOP’s New Research Initiative Seeks to Demystify the Body’s Defense System

CHOP's Immunology and Infectious Disease Research Initiative brings together more than 80 faculty members representing 20 divisions across the Research Institute.

By ingenol [at] chop.edu (Lauren Ingeno)

The human body is continuously at war with unwelcome pathogens. Uncovering the wonders — and limitations — of the immune system is critical for understanding health and disease.

At Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute, Laurence "Ike" Eisenlohr, VMD, PhD, is studying how deadly viruses evade the immune system and infect their hosts. Audrey Odom John, MD, PhD, is developing new tests and treatments for malaria, which kills more than 400,000 people each year. Jeffrey Gerber, MD, PhD, is tracking the long-term impacts of antibiotic overuse. Joseph Zackular, PhD, is researching how environmental factors affect the susceptibility and severity of C. difficile infection. Michael Silverman, MD, PhD is investigating early-life commensal microbes that influence immune system development and function.

Laurence "Ike" Eisenlohr, VMD, PhD

And that's only a fraction of the CHOP scientists dedicated to infectious disease and immunology research.

"We can also harness what we're learning about the immune system to design vaccines, treat cancer, and develop drugs for autoimmune diseases," Dr. Eisenlohr said.

Dr. Eisenlohr and Dr. John are leading CHOP's Immunology and Infectious Disease Research Initiative, that brings together more than 80 faculty members representing 20 divisions across the Research Institute. Collectively, the researchers have received over $300 million in grant funding over the past five years and have published more than 300 papers in high-impact journals.

Audrey Odom John, MD, PhD

The initiative launched this year and will harness the depth and breadth of microbiology, vaccinology, and immunology research across the hospital to position CHOP as a global leader in these areas of pediatric medicine.

"This initiative gives researchers who are currently spread across CHOP a formalized, shared identity," Dr. John said. "We'll be able to build connections across groups, and when we're recruiting new faculty and trainees, we'll be able to show exactly what the scientific community they will be joining looks like."

In addition to building research relationships within CHOP, the initiative will help to facilitate valuable partnerships with colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania, the Wistar Institute, and collaborators throughout the world. Some of those existing and proposed collaborations relate to immune health, microbial pathogenesis, vaccines, and the microbiome. Strengthening partnerships with Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine and the university's Institute for Immunology & Immune Health (I3H) will be especially key.

"You can't improve child health without improving environmental health and animal health," Dr. John said. "It's all very much connected."

When CHOP's Morgan Center for Research and Innovation opens in 2025, the state-of-the-art building will facilitate interaction and collaboration among Immunology and Infectious Disease Research Initiative investigators.

"At CHOP and Penn, we have world leaders in almost every area of infectious disease and immunology research," Dr. Eisenlohr said. "With this initiative, we have the chance to coalesce that expertise and further our principal mission of improving child health."