Immunology

Understanding how immune and inflammatory responses are controlled, and how to use that knowledge to cure diseases and improve health.

HARNESSING THE IMMUNE SYSTEM TO CURE DISEASE AND IMPROVE HEALTH

Immunology is at the threshold of healthcare transformation—think of it as the new frontier of medicine. In the last 10 years, major clinical advances have enriched basic understanding of the immune system. Groundbreaking research has led to immunotherapies, which are a method of using the body’s own immune system to fight diseases. The result is new strategies used to treat vaccine-resistant infectious diseases and cancers.

In order to study the immune system, UCLA began a cross-campus initiative called Immunity, Inflammation, Infection, and Transplantation (aka “I3T”). I3T strives to understand how immune and inflammatory responses are controlled and to use this knowledge to cure diseases and improve human health.

I3T brings together basic and clinical researchers from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, the UCLA College of Letters and Science, the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.

Specifically, I3T seeks ways to program the immune system to fight cancer and infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS, Ebola, influenza, Tuberculosis, and measles. I3T works to transform organ transplant strategies to prevent rejection. And I3T develops innovative strategies to prevent the uncontrolled immune responses that characterize such conditions as allergies, asthma, autoimmune diseases and chronic inflammatory disease.

Great discoveries require great resources. Your gift to the Immunology Research Fund can help researchers seek treatment for cancer, HIV/AIDS, Ebola, influenza, Tuberculosis, measles, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, obesity, diabetes, and many more. Your gift can help improve the health and well-being of millions of patients and find methods to cure diseases.