Faculty & Leadership

Some of the Participating Faculty and Their Qualifications

Monica Guma, MD., PhD. The Guma lab studies metabolic changes in cells critical for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and osteoarthritispathogenesis, especially fibroblast-like synovioctyes and macrophages, to offer a novel and additional approach for combined therapy independent of systemic immunosuppression.

Hiutung Chu, PhD. The Chu lab is interested in the complex interactions between the trillions of diverse microbes and the host in the mammalian gastrointestinal tract. The host immune system has developed mechanisms to tolerate and maintain a symbiotic relationship with its community of microbes. In turn, the commensal microbiota plays a fundamental role in the education, induction, and maintenance of the host immune system.

Samuel Ward, PhD. The mission of Dr Ward's lab is to conduct high impact, translational research in the field of musculoskeletal research. Although their core focus is in skeletal muscle design and plasticity, they will continue to explore leading-edge questions in Radiology, Regenerative Medicine, and Rehabilitation.To achieve this vision and mission they have created a collaborative, respectful and inclusive atmosphere where multidisciplinary experts converge at the forefront of innovation in research and training to advance the knowledge in the field and impact the care of patients with neuromusculoskeletal injuries and diseases.

Wei Wang, PhD. The Wang lab is  interested in uncovering the regulatory architecture of the genome and understanding the underlying biophysical principles at genomic and molecular levels. Their research is highly interdisciplinary. The computational and theoretical work are tightly coupled with experimental investigation. The focus areas include: (1) Characterizing and engineering the binding specificity of protein recognition; (2) Deciphering the regulatory grammar encoded in the genome; (3) Understanding the relationship between structure and function of the 3D genome; (4) System-level study of cell state specification, cell fate decision and cell type conversion.

Richard Gallo, MD., PhD. The Gallo lab research is focused on understanding how the skin and its resident microbiome defends the body against infections and the environment. They apply modern techniques of biochemistry, immunology, microbiology, and genetics to study complex biological systems within the immune system and the microbiome. Their goal is to translate this information into improved diagnostics and therapeutics to better understand and treat human disease.