Home Department: undeclared
Mentor: Michael Howitt (Pathology and Microbiology & Immunology)

“The Role of Intestinal Taste Cells in Modulating Antimicrobial Secretion”

Leila’s project incorporates immunology with tissue stem biology to study the influence of type 2 immune cytokines on the differentiation of intestinal epithelial cells. Leila is utilizing flow cytometry and immunofluorescent microscopy in murine genetic models and primary intestinal organoids to elucidate how intestinal epithelial cells respond to the cytokine IL-13 whether by proliferation or influencing specific differentiation of stem cells. This study will provide insight into better understanding taste-sensory biology with innate immunology.