Faculty

My research program is focused on basic and translational research on sepsis and other forms of inflammation-driven acute organ failure ("Inflammatory Critical Illness"). Sepsis and multiple organ failure are leading causes of death in the Intensive Care Unit. These processes result from a complex inflammatory response that is initiated through the innate immune system by interactions between host cells and microbes or endogenous host factors that are released during injury or cell death. The family of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) recognize different microbial components and endogenous host factors, and are critical in initiating inflammatory responses to infection. The Hellman Group studies TLR-dependent pathways expressed by macrophages as well as non-conventional inflammatory cells, including endothelial cells, in Inflammatory Critical Illness, focusing on their roles in coagulopathy, vascular permeability, neutrophil trafficking to organs, and organ injury and failure.