immune system

Taming Inflammation in the Intestines

IRP’s Warren Strober Breaks Down the Causes of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

man with stomach pains

For many, the holiday season brings expectations of delicious meals and treats with family and friends, but the nearly 1.6 million Americans who have inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may need to skip these delights or endure serious digestive distress. It’s fitting, then, that the first week of December is Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Week, an occasion that calls attention to the two conditions lumped together under the umbrella of IBD.

Of course, no awareness week is needed to remind IRP senior investigator Warren Strober, M.D., of the importance of learning more about those two conditions. An expert in how the immune system operates within the digestive system, Dr. Strober has spent decades looking for ways to provide relief for IBD sufferers.

New Lasker Scholars Are Coming for Cancer

IRP Program Supports Cutting-Edge Cancer Research

Dr. Rosa Nguyen

The cumulative years of experience among the IRP’s large cadre of cancer researchers is truly astounding, with numerous scientists having spent half a century or more studying the disease at NIH. As incredibly valuable as their hard-earned wisdom is to finding new treatments for cancer, any scientific field also benefits tremendously from a constant influx of young talent. That’s where the IRP’s Lasker Clinical Research Scholars Program comes in.

The Lasker program identifies extremely promising early-career physician-scientists in a wide variety of fields and provides them with funding and resources to start their own independent labs at NIH. Over the past year, purely by coincidence, all of the Lasker Scholars selected happen to specialize in the study and treatment of cancer. Read on to learn more about the new ideas and bounding enthusiasm these fresh faces are bringing to NIH’s fight against the disease.

A New Model of an Old Itch

IRP’s Marc Ferrer Grows 3D Skin to Study Eczema

person with eczema on their hands

Traditional ways of assessing the effectiveness and safety of potential new drugs don’t exactly mimic the human body. After all, we are not jumbo-sized mice, nor are we flat swaths of a single type of cell spread across a petri dish. As a result, many drugs that initially show promising results when tested on cell or animal models turn out to be disappointing in clinical trials.

That’s why scientists like the IRP’s Marc Ferrer, Ph.D., are developing more realistic models of human tissues, which give a more accurate picture of how well a drug might work in people. As we observe Eczema Awareness Month in October, we spoke with Dr. Ferrer, Director of NIH’s 3D Tissue Bioprinting Laboratory, about the efforts of his group to create a better model of human skin for testing treatments for that condition, which causes dry, itchy skin for more than 30 million Americans.

Immune Cells’ Rallying Cry Negates Cardiovascular Surgery’s Benefits

Existing Medications Could Extend Procedure’s Protective Effects

surgeons performing surgery

While modern surgery is undoubtedly a life-saving modern marvel, mucking around inside the human body rarely comes without consequences. Certain life-extending procedures meant to combat heart disease, for instance, commonly cause cardiovascular complications of their own. Fortunately, a team led by IRP researchers has identified a promising approach for staving off those surgical side effects to keep patients’ hearts robust for longer.

Fighting the Fungus Among Us

Overactive Immune Response Sets Stage for Infection

various fungi growing in a petri dish

Fungal infections are a serious medical threat to many people, especially those who are critically ill or have weakened immune systems. What’s more, outbreaks are on the rise, as studies show that rising global temperatures are causing fungi to evolve into new strains and grow in regions that were once too cold for comfort. Recent outbreaks include a tragic incident at a Michigan paper mill that sickened nearly 100 people and caused one death, as well as a cluster of fungal infections that have killed at least seven women who underwent cosmetic surgery at clinics in Mexico.

Commemorating Fungal Disease Awareness Week this week brings attention to the importance of combating fungal threats to our well-being. The theme this year is ‘Think Fungus,’ and that’s exactly what IRP senior investigator Michail Lionakis, M.D., Sc.D., has been doing for the last 20 years.

Sandra Wolin and Ronald Germain Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

IRP Scientists Recognized for RNA Revelations and Immune System Insights

Dr. Ronald Germain (left) and Dr. Sandra Wolin

Since its founding in 1780, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences has honored excellence in fields ranging from the humanities and arts to math, biology, and physics. In 2023, two of IRP’s eminent researchers joined the ranks of such luminaries as Benjamin Franklin and Nobel Prize winner Barbara McClintock as members of the Academy for their work in immunology and RNA science.

Research Reveals Trigger for Brain’s Repairmen

IRP Discoveries Could Enhance Recovery from Brain Injuries

people with repair tools working on a person's head

Many futurists and science fiction writers dream about a time when nanobots will run around our bodies fixing any damage that occurs. Until that day comes, we’re reliant on our immune system to mop up when things go wrong, a fickle set of cells that sometimes needs a push to get going. IRP scientists recently discovered how a particular type of cell in the blood stimulates the brain’s construction crew to leap into action, potentially opening the door to treatments that boost healing in the brain.

IRP’s John O’Shea Elected to National Academy of Sciences

NIH Scientist Spurred Revolution in Autoimmune Disease Therapy

Dr. John O'Shea

IRP senior investigator John O’Shea, M.D., is a man of many talents. During his career at NIH, he has applied his creativity and drive not just to playing a variety of instruments in a rock band made up of NIH scientists, the Affordable Rock ‘n’ Roll Act (ARRA), but also to his groundbreaking research on the immune system.

This May, Dr. O’Shea, who is the Scientific Director at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), was elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for his influential research on the biochemical chain of events that kicks our immune system into gear, which has led to a better understanding of how genetic mutations interfere with the immune response, as well as the development of an entire new class of drugs that target the immune system.

The Boon of Blood

A Look Inside NIH’s Department of Transfusion Medicine

a patient receiving blood during a surgery

The essential role of blood in our bodies has been recognized as far back as the time of ancient Greece, when the Greek physician Hippocrates included it in his list of four ‘humors’ that influence our health and emotions. Since then, scientists have vastly expanded our understanding of the dark red liquid running through our veins and arteries. Nowadays, researchers and technicians like those in NIH’s Department of Transfusion Medicine (DTM) can not only safely remove blood from one person and transfuse it into another, but they can also transform it into incredible forms of therapy.

The Life-Saving NIH Blood Bank

Blood Donors Play Critical Role in IRP’s Mission

Hal Wilkins (left) and Dr. Kamille West-Mitchell (right) pose with a sign for the NIH Blood Bank

The NIH IRP is full of vampires. Hundreds of patients at the NIH Clinical Center — not to mention scientists in roughly 200 IRP labs — depend on blood provided by NIH’s very own blood bank.

Conveniently located in the NIH Clinical Center, the NIH Blood Bank collects roughly 4,000 units of ‘whole blood’ each year — the process most people think of when they think of donating blood. It also receives more than 2,000 annual donations of specific blood components, which are collected via a process that separates them from other parts of the blood and returns the rest to the donor’s body. Most of those donations gather blood-clotting platelets, but the NIH Blood Bank also occasionally collects oxygen-carrying red blood cells and infection-fighting ‘convalescent plasma.’