Exploring Chemokine-Driven Acute Inflammatory Diseases

A research internship investigating MIF and chemokine interactions in acute respiratory distress syndrome and inflammatory liver disease. The project focuses on the mechanisms of chemokine-mediated inflammation in ARDS and inflammatory liver diseases. ARDS is a severe form of lung inflammation leading to respiratory failure with high mortality and no effective pharmacological therapies beyond supportive care. Chemokines are small signaling proteins guiding immune cells to sites of inflammation; the group studies how MIF, a pro-inflammatory cytokine and atypical chemokine, interacts with other chemokines and their receptors, working toward selectively targeting chemokine-driven inflammatory pathways.