Deciphering the developing immune system through antibody profiling and integrative omics

Novel molecular methods offer to shine new light on immune system development.

These technical advances can now aid in resolving how early-life exposures to microbes and environmental pollutants contribute to disease development.At Johns Hopkins, I aim to analyze the immune responses of 1,000 mother-child pairs to uncover molecular trajectories from environmental exposures to allergic disease outcomes, covering several classes of circulating immunoglobulins.

Combining leading antibody profiling methods with multi-omics data from birth to adolescence, my first aim is to determine how immune responses to >5,800 microbes, viruses, and allergens affect children´s susceptibility to allergic diseases.

Second, I will study the impact of early-life exposure to airborne particulates, heavy metals, and PFAS on immune responses and allergies.

Lastly, I will integrate exposures to microbes, viruses, and pollutants to explore how they alter the epigenome and metabolome, which may mediate allergic disease development.By combining my bioinformatic expertise with new computational methods and the cutting-edge analytical resources at Johns Hopkins, I will refine and deploy integrative antibody profiling to chart molecular trajectories from early-life exposures to allergic disease onset.

Ultimately, the obtained knowledge may benefit patients with allergic diseases by supporting the development of personalized strategies for early prediction, prevention, and treatment.