Current Projects

A Single Comprehensive Assay for Gene Regulatory Profiling Optimized for Minimal Sample Input Requirements

This collaboration between our lab and investigators at Cornell University seeks to decipher the gene regulatory landscape explaining age-related differences in T cell function and fate using a novel, sample-sparing micro-PROseq method.

Neurobiological and neurocognitive consequences of diverse microbiome functional trajectories

This collaborative study led by Dr. Steven Gill, Dr. Scheible and Dr. Tom O’Connor is designed to identify factors during pregnancy that influence the earliest gut colonization in infants, what chemical messages are created by the bacteria, and how the presence and timing of such signals impacts brain development. We also investigate the role of early microbial colonization in immune development.  

Neoimmune: Roles for developmentally expressed CD8+ T cell microRNA’s on antigen-specific responses during infancy

This study investigates the function of differential microRNA expression in neonatal CD8+ T cells in mice and humans. Using advanced proteomics and genomics, we collaborate with investigators at Cornell University and the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust in Blantyre, Malawi to determine the relationship between early CD8+ T cell miRNA expression and the variation of BCG-specific responses in human infants.

Pre- and postnatal exposure periods for child health: common risks and shared mechanisms

This project is part of a large consortium, the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program. As part of the study, Dr. Scheible’s lab investigates the role of antenatal exposures (psychosocial, inflammatory and toxic) on the developing infant immune system. We further seek to understand the mediating effects of immune trajectories on infant neurodevelopment.

Alternate mechanisms of immune protection against novel infections during infancy

This study investigates the source and function of unconventional T cell populations in neonates, against primary and secondary viral infections, including seasonal and pandemic coronaviruses.