Immunology
Expanding our basic understanding of the immune system is at the heart of our race to develop new therapies and preventative measures against COVID-19.
Advances in immunology have led to novel therapies for a variety of treatment-resistant conditions.
- Immunology provides the foundation that connects virtually all aspects of human health and disease.
- Therapies that target the immune system have transformed treatment for conditions from cancer to neurological disorders.
- Effective vaccines must be able to stimulate the production of immune molecules and cells to clear viruses like COVID-19.
UT Austin has some of the world’s leading immunology experts who are driving the new discoveries to combat COVID-19.
Explore Research Opportunities
Your support will advance our research efforts to fight COVID-19 now and help minimize or prevent future outbreaks.
A study to determine the features of the immune responses elicited in COVID-19-infected patients, identifying those associated with protection versus those responsible for harmful over-inflammation to inform effective vaccines and therapeutic approaches.
George Georgiou, Cockrell School of Engineering
Jason Lavinder, Cockrell School of Engineering
Jennifer Maynard, Cockrell School of Engineering
Jimmy Gollihar, College of Natural Sciences
Gregory Ippolito, College of Natural Sciences
Edward Marcotte, College of Natural Sciences
Jason McLellan, College of Natural Sciences
A study of an already approved drug that can both slow down COVID-19 progression and boost normal immune responses, rapidly resulting in a safe and inexpensive treatment.
Jon Huibregtse, College of Natural Sciences
Jason McLellan, College of Natural Sciences
A longitudinal study aimed at applying immune-airway integrity metrics to predict patient outcomes and response to treatment, and determine long-term immune and clinical outcomes associated with COVID-19 patients after recovery.
Grace Lee, College of Pharmacy
A project to establish an integrated patient sample biobank and clinical database within Travis County with which we will comprehensively profile COVID-19 immune responses, identifying risk factors for disease severity to optimize patient care and medical resource allocation.
Esther Melamed, Dell Medical School
Justin Rousseau, Dell Medical School
Todd Triplett, Dell Medical School
Lauren Ehrlich, College of Natural Sciences
Joydeep Gosh, Cockrell School of Engineering
A systematic study to monitor the mental and physical health outcomes of COVID-19 survivors, ensuring they are provided the care that will lead to a full recovery.
Marisa Toups, Dell Medical School
Cameron Craddock, Dell Medical School
Greg Fonzo, Dell Medical School
Mbemba Jabbi, Dell Medical School
Esther Melamed, Dell Medical School
Marissa Mery, Dell Medical School
Giving to Research at UT Austin
UT Austin has long been recognized for its contributions in immunology, including the discovery and development of immunology-based human therapeutics.
Pioneers in immunology
We are studying T-cell biology, the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, crosstalk between DNA repair, inflammation and immunology in cancer therapy, and have invented a suite of unique technologies for the molecular level analysis of immune responses.
Connecting immunological research to COVID-19
Our faculty is studying vaccine development, immune responses and toxicities associated with recombinant viruses, bacterial and viral pathogens, viral vectors, and biologics discovery and development, with multiple therapeutics currently undergoing clinical evaluation.
From research to clinical practice
Faculty members are engaged in translational research developing strategies to improve immunotherapy.