Neuroimmunology Research in the Hsieh Lab at UCSF

Welcome to the Hsieh Lab! 

We are excited to study innate immunity with a focus on molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in inflammation, tissue repair, and autoimmunity.  We seek to better understand cellular immunology to modulate it to improve disease outcomes in disease areas with unmet needs, such as traumatic brain injury (TBI) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

TBI leads to cognitive and motor disabilities. It is a significant public health issue in the United States and world-wide.  In 2013, 2.8 million TBI-related hospital visits and deaths occurred in the US.  Given the need to find treatments to improve the outcomes of TBI, our lab uses mouse models, genetics, and pharmacological interventions to identify targets to ameliorate the behaviorial deficits seen after TBI.  A major area that we are investigating is the impact of microglial phenotypes and heterogeneity during TBI.  We recently identifed several distinct microglia phenotypes that are elevated in TBI. We test our hypotheses using technical approaches, including immunological methods, single-cell transcriptomics, histology, and neurobehavior testing.  

FTD is a form of dementia resulting from progressive degeneration of the temporal and frontal lobes of the brain, which are important for decision-making, behaviorial control, emotion, language, and memory. Under the age of 60, FTD is the most common cause of dementia; it is a fatal disease with no currently approved treatments. Our lab strives to understand the genetic and immune-mediated cellular mechanisms leading to or exacerbating FTD.

We are recruiting postdoctoral fellows and volunteers.  Please reach out to us if you are interested in joining or collaborating.  

Also visit our San Francisco VA Immunology website.