Our lab exploits whole genome approaches to tackle problems in yeast molecular biology and human infectious disease. These projects can be classified into three separate areas:

Shuvo Roy, PhD, is a translational bioengineer focusing on the development of medical devices to address unmet clinical needs through strong collaboration and a multidisciplinary approach.

In the Roybal Lab we harness the tools of synthetic and chemical biology to enhance the therapeutic potential of engineered immune cells. We take a comprehensive approach to cellular engineering by developing new synthetic receptors, signal transduction cascades, and cellular response programs to enhance the safety and effectiveness of adoptive cell therapies. We also study the logic of natural cellular signaling systems, and the underlying principles of cellular communication and collective cell behavior during an immune response.

Dr. Peter Stock is a transplant surgeon who specializes in kidney, liver and pancreas transplants. He is co-director of the Pancreatic Islet Cell Transplantation Program.

In his research, Stock studies body mechanisms that lead to transplant rejection when the donor and recipient are not genetically identical. He also studies chimerism (a therapy to prevent transplant rejection that uses the donor's bone marrow cells) and pancreatic islet cell transplantation (a procedure that can allow people with type 1 diabetes to discontinue insulin therapy).

The Tang lab focuses on translating knowledge on mechanisms of immune tolerance into novel therapeutics for treating autoimmune diabetes and preventing transplant rejection. Currently, two major areas of work are on therapeutic application of regulatory T cell therapy in type 1 diabetes and transplantation and immune modulation to enable immune suppression-free transplant of stem-cell-derived beta cells for treatment of type 1 diabetes.

Modern molecular biology presents us with a growing list of molecules that build a living cell. However, how the diverse activities of these molecules are coordinated in space and time to generate functional and dynamic cell biology is an increasingly complex and essentially unresolved question.