Name & Description	Category	Role	Type	Scope	Start Year	End Year
Executive Committee of the Graduate School: The Executive Committee is the steering committee for the Graduate School. It advises the Vice Provost for Graduate Education on matters of policy and regulatory interpretation, approves plans of study and dissertation prospectuses, and considers on the basis of academic merit proposals to modify or to create fields of study and areas of concentration.	Advisory Committee	Member (Elected by the Graduate Faculty Council)		University	2018	2021
UConn School of Medicine Education Council: the Education Council formulates policies and plans for all educational activities sponsored by the School of Medicine	Education Committee	Member (Elected by the Paid and Affiliated Faculty of the SOM)	UConn Health	University	2018	2021
NIH, Standing Member - Immunity and Host Defense Study Section	Study Section	Reviewer	External	National	2015	2020
Medical and Dental Student Research Day (annual conference)	Workshop/Conference	Co-Chair (School of Medicine)	UConn Health	University	2015	2020
Curriculum Development, Operations, Grading Committees, Scholarship & Discovery, Stage 1	Education Committee	Chair - S&D; Member - others		University	2014	2021
American Association for the Advancement of Science	Professional/Scientific Organization	Member	External	International	2012	2021
Council on Education: The Council oversees the development, modification, evaluation and measurement of educational programs at all levels: predoctoral, postdoctoral, continuing, and other related programs in the School of Dental Medicine. The Council is, thus, authorized to recommend policies and procedures for educational programs, admission, evaluation and promotion of students.	Education Committee	Member (Appointed SDM)		University	2008	2021
Society of Mucosal Immunology	Professional/Scientific Organization	Member		International	2004	2021
American Association of Immunologists	Professional/Scientific Organization	Member	External	International	1998	2021
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee: Includes meetings, advising investigators, providing merit reviews and special subcommittees. Also post-approval animal welfare support (PAWS) inspections on a rotating basis.	Research Committee	Member (Appointed Assoc VP for Reseach, Research Integrity & Reg Affairs)		University	1996	2021

The overall goal of the research ongoing in my laboratory is to elucidate the contribution of maternal antigen or immune status in the susceptibility or resistance to development of allergic airway disease in offspring. It is evident from epidemiological studies that the risk for childhood asthma is increased by having a positive family history of asthma. In particular, allergic sensitization of the newborn is closely linked to maternal but not to paternal allergies. Our focus is on early life events (either pre-natal or early post-natal) that can result in T and B cell tolerance or immunity. Our hypothesis is that the environment in neonatal mice (determined by maternal immunity or passive transfer of antigen) is critical to immunological outcome, having life-long influences on development of immune responsiveness. We are identifying the cells responsible and the mechanisms by which they dictate functional commitment of the neonate to the development of, or protection from, atopy.

One strategy we are undertaking to advance this work is to characterize the antigen-presenting environment in pre- and post-natal life, with the focus on defining factors that dictate whether exposure to allergen in early life induces T cell sensitization or tolerance. The thinking is that in certain circumstances, T cell sensitization can occur in utero or in early post-natal life and that factors responsible for these circumstances have increased in the past 20 years. It has been proposed that this could explain the increased incidence of asthma and other inflammatory diseases. The challenge for scientists is to identify factors that control this process, with the ultimate goal of developing therapeutic strategies to reverse the progressive increase in disease. Our studies are focused on antigen-presenting cells such as dendritic cells (DCs) or macrophages, as they are known to direct the T cell responses to antigen throughout life, presumably including the pre- and post-natal period. In addition, we have developed transgenic models for evaluating T cell functional capacity at different ages, and in different environmental conditions, e.g. spleen or lymph node vs. lung or intestine in naïve mice or those with allergic airway disease. Our findings support the concept that it is not only the innate immune system that directs T cell responses, but also that T cell responses shape the development of the innate immune system.

Not accepting lab rotation students at this time

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