Jacob Hopkins

Cells have developed multiple innate immune pathways to recognize nucleic acids as a response to intracellular infections. Induction of a proinflammatory response including the induction of Type I Interferons is a downstream consequence of nucleic acid sensing. Recent research suggests that nucleic acid sensing may also lead to the induction of immunosuppressive signaling pathways which serve to calibrate the strength of the immune response to foreign or aberrant nucleic acids. The main focus of the Sharma lab is identifying and characterizing these immunosuppressive signals downstream of innate nucleic acid sensing pathways. We assess the role that these pathways play in chronic and infectious disease as well as during homeostasis. My research centers on characterizing one arm of these immunosuppressive signaling pathways downstream of cytosolic DNA sensing.