Laboratory of Shannon Bromley, PhD
Email: sbromley@mgh.harvard.edu
Call: 617-726-6497
Overview
In barrier sites such as the lung and skin, tissue-resident memory T cells provide rapid protection against infection, but they can also contribute to chronic inflammatory disease. The Bromley Lab studies how tissue microenvironments control the phenotype, localization, and function of memory CD8+ T cells. We use mouse models of infection and inflammation, together with complementary studies in human tissue explants, to address these questions. Our goal is to define the mechanisms that organize immune memory across tissues and determine how this organization affects immune protection and disease.
Research Projects
Memory CD8+ T cells in Barrier Immunity
CD8+ tissue-resident memory T cells provide rapid local protection against infection. A major focus of the lab is understanding how these cells are established, maintained, and altered by inflammatory microenvironments, particularly in allergic disease.
Using complementary models of allergic skin and airway inflammation, together with viral infection models, we investigate how tissue cues regulate the migration, proliferation, survival, and function of memory CD8+ T cells. These projects connect parallel work in skin and lung, allowing us to define both shared and tissue-specific mechanisms that regulate barrier immune memory.