About Us

The Wakeland Lab utilizes state-of-the-art genomic strategies to investigate the diversity of the human and mouse immune systems. Our primary focus in human genetics is to delineate the genetic basis for autoimmunity and to identify the molecular pathways that contribute to disease pathology. Our primary focus has been on systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a debilitating autoimmune disease initiated via a profound loss of immunologic tolerance to nuclear antigens. We also are investigating the genetic diversity of innate immune responses in the human myeloid cell lineage. Our focus on the mouse has been on characterizing the properties of suppressive modifiers that can eliminate disease manifestations in mouse models of SLE. Currently, there are two faculty, one postdoctoral fellow, and two graduate students training in the laboratory.