Research

Research in the Department of Laboratory Medicine spans fundamental discovery, translational investigation, and the development of new approaches to disease diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment. Our faculty bring together expertise in cell and molecular biology, immunology, hematology, genomics, computational science, and clinical laboratory medicine, with a shared goal of understanding mechanisms of human disease and translating those discoveries into improved patient care.

Major areas of research include hematopoiesis, stem cells, hemostasis, and transfusion medicine, with studies of blood cell development, stem and progenitor cell fate, platelet biology, coagulation, inflammation, leukemogenesis, and cellular therapies.

Faculty also pursue research in cancer biology, genome regulation, and cell fate, investigating how alterations in chromosomes, chromatin, RNA regulation, signaling pathways, and cellular state contribute to malignancy and other diseases. These studies range from fundamental mechanisms of genome stability and developmental regulation to identification of new diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities.

A major departmental strength is immunity, infection, and host–pathogen interactions. Investigators study antiviral defense, viral entry and immune evasion, emerging viruses, B-cell and germinal-center biology, human immune variation, and the interaction of immunity with cancer and other diseases.

Research in clinical diagnostics and translational laboratory science is closely integrated with the department’s clinical mission. Faculty develop and evaluate biomarkers, molecular and genomic diagnostics, mass spectrometry-based assays, hematologic and transfusion testing, clinical virology, and new approaches to laboratory quality, outcomes, and clinical decision-making.

The department also has growing strengths in computational medicine, biomedical informatics, and systems biology, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, analysis of large clinical and genomic datasets, predictive modeling, and quantitative approaches to biological networks and disease mechanisms. Additional programs in neuroscience and neurochemistry address epilepsy, neural metabolism and signaling, and substance-use disorders.

Laboratory Medicine faculty collaborate extensively across Yale, including with the Yale Cancer Center, Yale Stem Cell Center, and programs in Immunobiology, Cell Biology, Genetics, Biomedical Informatics, Microbial Pathogenesis, and Neuroscience. This highly interdisciplinary environment creates opportunities to connect fundamental biology with diagnostic innovation and clinical translation, while providing a rich research setting for students, residents, fellows, and other trainees.