Overview
The purpose of my lab is to understand the pathogenesis and to identify biomarkers and therapeutic targets for inflammatory and autoimmune diseases that start in childhood.
We are interested in understanding chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases that present in childhood and normally result from complex interactions between genes and the environment. Most of these diseases are molecularly heterogeneous, thus explaining the current lack of “one size fits all” therapeutic interventions. Our lab applies systems biology approaches to monitor the immune system of children suffering from these diseases through disease flares and remissions. Integrating laboratory and clinical data provides us with information about potentially dysregulated biological pathways in unique groups of patients. From these, we generate hypothesis that can be tested in vitro about the significance of these pathways as pathogenic players that could be targeted therapeutically and/or their value as biomarkers to assess disease activity. Our goal is to use this information towards the rational design of successful clinical trials.
Highlights
- 1Cell · 2021
- 2Immunity · 2024
- 3Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2023
Publications
Funding
Active
11 grants- MPIR01AR084711-02Personalized Immunomonitoring to Understand Juvenile DermatomyositisNational Inst of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases · 2025–2030
- PIU19AI144301-08Immune Cells and Secretory Pathways Leading to Human Systemic AutoimmunityNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · 2019–2029· 4 renewals
- Sub-PIR24AI167802-04New York Regional Inborn Errors of Immunity Resource Initiative League (NY-ROYAL)National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · 2023–2028 · via Columbia University
- Sub-PIR01HD111638-02Sex Differences in Statural Growth Impairment in Pediatric Crohn's Disease: Part 2Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development · 2025–2028 · via Children's Research Institute
- PIP50AR070594-10Center for Lupus ResearchNational Inst of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases · 2017–2027· 2 renewals
- MPIU19AI168632-02Early life respiratory viral infections shape immune development trajectories- Project 2National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · 2023–2027 · via St. Jude Children's Research Hospital· 3 renewals
- PISA 243214-02PRISM Biorepository Agreement with RhoRho, Inc. · 2024–2027Contract
- Sub-PIU01AI165452-05A deep longitudinal analysis of next generation influenza vaccines in older adults.National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · 2022–2026 · via The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine
- PIBP 211595-01Evaluating the Magnitude and Distribution of the IFN Signature (Biopharma with AstraZeneca)AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP · 2020–2026BioPharma Alliance
- Co-IR56DK136876-01A1Mechanisms of intracellular iron dysregulation in kidney fibrosis and reno-protective strategiesNational Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases · 2024–2026
- PILRA 213987-03Molecular Fingerprinting of Lupus in ChildrenLupus Research Alliance · 2022–2026
Completed grants (19)
- Sub-PIR01AI142086-04High-resolution single cell profiling of vaccine responsiveness in the elderlyNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · 2019–2024 · via Jackson Laboratory
- PIBP 201359-01BioPharma Alliance AgreementSanofi S.A. · 2019–2023BioPharma Alliance
- KPS10OD032317-01Hypoxic incubator for physiological cell culture researchOffice of the Director, NIH · 2022–2023
- PIAddgene 701923Addgene 701923Addgene, Inc. · 2022–2023
- Sub-PIU01AI131386-05S1High Precision System Analysis of Infant Immune ResponsesNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · 2020–2022 · via The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital
- Co-IRG-1908-34822Defining ancestry associated B-cell inflammation in treatment naïve Multiple SclerosisNational Multiple Sclerosis Society · 2020–2022
- Co-IR21AI144819-01A1Determining Enhanced Inflammatory B cell Function in African Americans with MSNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · 2020–2022
- PILRA 213941-01Immune Responses with SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients: a Multi-center North American Observational StudyLupus Research Alliance · 2021–2021
- PILRA 212337-01Molecular Fingerprinting of Lupus in ChildrenLupus Research Alliance · 2020–2021
- MPIU19AI082715-09Novel Innate and Adaptive Immunity Pathways Lead to Human Systemic AutoimmunityNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · 2017–2019
- PISRA 183069-01Identification of novel therapeutic targets for proliferative lupus nephritisSanofi S.A. · 2017–2018Contract
- PIU19AI089987-05S1Systems Analysis Vaccine Responses in Healthy and Hyporesponsive HumansNIAID · 2011–2017 · via NIH RePORTER
- PIU19AI057234-10Measuring High Affinity Mucosal Antibody ResponsesNIAID · 2008–2015 · via NIH RePORTER
- PIR01AR050770-09Use of Microarrays to Understand Systemic ArthritisNIAMS · 2003–2013 · via NIH RePORTER
- PIR01AR046589-05ECTOPIC GERMINAL CENTER REACTION IN SYSTEMIC LUPUSNIAMS · 2000–2005 · via NIH RePORTER
- PIN01AI005412-5-0-0BAA-CLIN. TRIALS & CLIN. MARKERS FOR IMMUNILOGIC DISEASE-266005412NIAID · 2000–2004 · via NIH RePORTERNo publications yet
- PIR29AI042862-05GENES SPECIFIC TO B CELL GERMINAL CENTER REACTIONSNIAID · 1998–2003 · via NIH RePORTER
Honors & distinctions
- Member · Association of American Physicians · 2018
- Fellow · American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Clinical research
Active
2 studies- PICollection of Healthy Pediatric ControlsDrukier Institute for Children's Health · OPEN TO ACCRUAL (as of 2026)
- PIPersonalized Immunomonitoring to Understand Juvenile DermatomyositisUniversity of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas · OPEN TO ACCRUAL (as of 2025)
News mentions
- Gale and Ira Drukier Prize in Children’s Health Research Awarded to Harvard Pediatric Hematologist-OncologistOctober 15, 2026
Dr. Robbie Majzner, an esteemed physician-scientist whose research focuses on children with intractable cancers, has been awarded the 11th annual Gale and Ira Drukier Prize in Children’s Health Research by Weill Cornell Medicine.
- Microbiome May Aid in Successful PregnanciesDecember 17, 2025
Gut microbes may play a key role in training a mother’s immune system to adapt to the developing fetus during pregnancy, according to a preclinical study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.
- New Immune Cell Suspects in LupusNovember 24, 2025
Detailed mapping of CD4⁺ T cells from children with systemic lupus erythematosus has revealed distinct immune cell subsets with likely roles in disease pathogenesis, according to a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.
- Gale and Ira Drukier Prize in Children’s Health Research Awarded to Pediatric Rheumatologist at Boston Children’s HospitalOctober 16, 2025
Dr. Lauren Henderson, a physician-scientist whose research focuses on children with difficult-to-treat juvenile idiopathic arthritis and other autoimmune disorders, has been awarded the 10th annual Gale and Ira Drukier Prize in Children’s Health Research, Weill Cornell Medicine announced today.
- Dr. Virginia Pascual Elected to American Academy of Arts and SciencesMay 6, 2025
Dr. Virginia Pascual, director of the Gale and Ira Drukier Institute for Children’s Health at Weill Cornell Medicine, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Show 16 more mentions
- Unique Immune Response in Lupus Paves Way for New TreatmentOctober 15, 2024
Immune cells called monocytes produce a key inflammatory protein called interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) through an unconventional pathway in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, commonly referred to as lupus, according to a new study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.
- Gale and Ira Drukier Prize in Children’s Health Research Awarded to Pediatric Cancer Specialist at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids)February 13, 2024
Dr. Sumit Gupta, a physician-scientist whose research focuses on vulnerable subpopulations of children with cancer, has been awarded the eighth annual Gale and Ira Drukier Prize in Children’s Health Research, Weill Cornell Medicine announced today.
- Gale and Ira Drukier Prize in Children’s Health Research Awarded to Johns Hopkins Medicine Infectious Disease SpecialistNovember 3, 2022
The Drukier Prize honors an early-career pediatrician whose research promises to make important contributions toward improving the health of children and adolescents.
- NIH Grant Funds Lupus Research in ChildrenOctober 21, 2022
A multi-institutional team of scientists, led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine’s Gale and Ira Drukier Institute for Children's Health, have received a five-year $8.297 grant to continue funding a Center for Lupus Research.
- Dr. Virginia Pascual Receives Lupus Research Alliance’s Inaugural $3 Million Global Team Science AwardOctober 13, 2021
Dr. Virginia Pascual has received an inaugural Global Team Science Award from the Lupus Research Alliance.
- Gale and Ira Drukier Prize in Children’s Health Research Awarded to University of Pittsburgh Pediatric PulmonologistSeptember 22, 2021
Dr. Erick Forno, a physician-scientist who investigates the risk factors and genomic mechanisms underlying childhood asthma, has been awarded the sixth annual Gale and Ira Drukier Prize in Children’s Health Research, Weill Cornell Medicine announced today.
- Red Blood Cell Alterations Contribute to LupusAugust 11, 2021
The autoimmune disease lupus may be triggered by a defective process in the development of red blood cells.
- Dr. Virginia Pascual Leads Grant to Study Immune Responses in Children with COVID-19 and Receives Prestigious ACR AwardNovember 9, 2020
Dr. Virginia Pascual has been awarded a grant supplement from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to lead a multi-institutional effort studying differences in immune responses in children infected with SARS-CoV-2.
- Rubella Vaccine Inventor Dr. Stanley Plotkin Delivers the Sixth Annual Drukier Lecture and Children's Health Prize Winners Speak at Combined Drukier Institute EventOctober 27, 2020
Dr. Stanley Plotkin, the inventor of the rubella vaccine now in standard use worldwide, and pediatric physician-scientists Dr. Stephen Patrick and Dr. Sallie Permar, who research health conditions that affect newborns, were the featured speakers at a symposium held online on Oct. 20 by Weill Cornell Medicine’s Gale and Ira Drukier Institute for Children's Health.
- Study Recruiting 1,000 Healthcare Workers to Investigate Underlying Factors Driving COVID-19 OutcomesOctober 6, 2020
A study by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian aims to answer one of COVID-19’s biggest mysteries: why do some people become severely ill, while others have no symptoms?
- Dr. Sallie Permar Appointed Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine and Pediatrician-in-Chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s HospitalSeptember 17, 2020
Dr. Sallie Permar, an eminent physician-scientist who focuses on the treatment and prevention of neonatal viral infections, has been appointed chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine and pediatrician-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital
- Study Identifies Abnormal Gene Activity in Distinct Subsets of Immune Cells in LupusAugust 14, 2020
Abnormal immune activity in lupus, a chronic disease that can cause rashes, fatigue, joint pain, and kidney failure, seems to occur mostly in small subsets of immune cells in patients, potentially enabling better targeting for future treatments, according to a study from scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine and The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine.
- A Mother’s Mission: Dr. Nicole Serlé Henwood Is Fighting to Find a Cure For Her Son’s Rare DiseaseOctober 24, 2019
Dr. Nicole Serlé Henwood is fighting to find a cure for her son’s rare disease.
- Coming to Terms: Lupus Can Complicate Pregnancy, But New Research Offers HopeOctober 2, 2019
Lupus can cause severe pregnancy complications — but a recent study offers hope for better outcomes
- NIH Grant Funds Research on Autoimmune Diseases in ChildrenAugust 8, 2019
Weill Cornell Medicine has been awarded a prestigious grant from the National Institutes of Health to establish an Autoimmunity Center of Excellence dedicated to understanding the mechanisms that contribute to autoimmune diseases in children.Weill Cornell Medicine has been awarded a prestigious grant from the National Institutes of Health to establish an Autoimmunity Center of Excellence dedicated to understanding the mechanisms that contribute to autoimmune diseases in children.
- Study Reveals Early Molecular Signs of High-Risk PregnancyApril 8, 2019
Women who have healthy pregnancies tend to show distinct changes in the activities of immune genes starting early in pregnancy, while women who have complicated pregnancies tend to show clear departures from that pattern, according to a new study from a team led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS).
Mentoring
- PBPreetha BalasubramanianPostdoc mentee · 2021–2024
External relationships
Advisory/Scientific Board Member
Lupus Research Alliance
Proprietary Interest
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
Other
Allen Institute for Human Immunology · METiS Pharmaceuticals · Moderna, Inc.