Vibrant watercolor image of human head with brain illuminated; neuroimmunology header

Neuroimmunology/Neurovirology

Neuroimmunology/Neurovirology

In the past decade, there has been a paradigm shift in our understanding of the interactions between the immune and nervous systems, leading researchers to explore neuroimmune-based mechanisms in normal brain development and function, as well as in complex brain disorders. Multiple sclerosis, the protypical immune-mediated disease of the brain, is a leading cause of permanent disability in young adults and affects nearly one million people in the United States.  In addition to classical immune-mediated neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and myasthenia gravis, increasing evidence also Increasing evidence points to a central role for immune dysregulation in almost every neurodevelopmental, neurological and psychiatric disorder, in addition to the more classical neurological diseases caused by immune dysfunction, like multiple sclerosis and myasthenia gravis. The impact of viruses on brain function is also a focus area in our Consortium, with faculty studying viruses that infect the nervous system, as well as the effects of immune activation downstream of maternal viral infection. 30 faculty members from 13 departments and 6 centers work in this area. Research among our faculty on this topic spans model systems from rodents to nonhuman primates to humans. Laboratory research in this area includes investigation into the mechanisms of immune-mediated neurologic damage and exploration of pathways potentially leading to brain repair in these disorders. Our faculty also have several large-scale collaborations within this area, including the UC Davis Conte Center, which is focused on schizophrenia, maternal infection and neuroimmunology; the Immune and Metabolic markers during Pregnancy and Child Neurodevelopment (IMPaCT) study; and the NIEHS Center for Children’s Environmental Health, which is supported by the MIND Institute IDDRC and several graduate and postdoctoral T32 training programs.

Faculty studying neuroimmunology/neurovirology