Ruslan Medzhitov, PhD
Sterling Professor of ImmunobiologyCards
Appointments
Additional Titles
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Contact Info
Immunobiology
PO Box 208011, 300 Cedar Street
New Haven, CT 06520
United States
Appointments
Additional Titles
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Contact Info
Immunobiology
PO Box 208011, 300 Cedar Street
New Haven, CT 06520
United States
Appointments
Additional Titles
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Contact Info
Immunobiology
PO Box 208011, 300 Cedar Street
New Haven, CT 06520
United States
About
Titles
Sterling Professor of Immunobiology
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Biography
Medzhitov laboratory studies biology of inflammation, mechanisms of homoeostasis, allergic immunity and mechanisms of diseases.
Appointments
Immunobiology
ProfessorPrimaryDermatology
ProfessorSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Cancer Immunology
- Center for Infection and Immunity
- Dermatology
- Diabetes Research Center
- Immunobiology
- Immunology
- Liver Center
- Microbiology
- Molecular Virology
- Rheumatic Diseases Research Core
- Virology Laboratories
- Yale Cancer Center
- Yale Center for Research on Aging (Y-Age)
- Yale Center for Systems and Engineering Immunology (CSEI)
- Yale Combined Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS)
- Yale Stem Cell Center
- Yale Ventures
- YCCEH
Education & Training
- PhD
- Moscow State University (1993)
Research
Overview
Host-Pathogen interactions
The disease state caused by microbial infection is a result of either microbial virulence or immunopathology (the host response to infection), or in some cases both. Thus immune sensing and responsiveness to infection are adjusted during evolution to achieve an optimal balance to maximize protection from infection, and to minimize the pathology caused by an overzealous immune response. This balance can presumably vary depending on infection. We are interested in studying the mechanisms (both hard-wired and adaptive) that allow for an optimal trade-off between these two conflicting goals. We are interested in understanding the role avoidance, resistance and tolerance as defense strategies.
Inflammation
Inflammation is a fundamental physiological process that underlies a multitude of normal and pathological conditions. We are studying both the basic biology of inflammation and the regulatory mechanisms that control initiation, quality and intensity of inflammatory responses. In particular, we are studying the links between inflammation and metabolism, inflammation and aging, and inflammation and cancer.
Control of adaptive immunity
Innate immune recognition plays a critical role in the control of adaptive immune responses. Multiple mechanisms underlie the connections between innate and adaptive immune systems, and most of them are poorly understood. We are studying basic mechanisms that couple innate immune recognition with activation and differentiation of adaptive immune responses. We are also studying the links between innate immune system and peripheral tolerance.
Control of gene expression
Stimulation of macrophages through TLRs leads to changes in the expression (induction and suppression) of hundreds of genes. These changes are effected through a diversity of mechanisms. Gene regulation occurs at multiple levels (activation of trasnscription factors, chromatin remodeling and histone modifications) and has both signal-specific and gene-specific components. Different subsets of TLR-inducible genes are subject to differential regulatory influences, which are dependent on the function of the products they encode. We are interested in the basic principles of inducible gene expression, which are currently poorly characterized.
Macrophage biology
We are studying the role of macrophages in maintenance of homeostasis and in physiological inflammation.
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Research Interests
Akiko Iwasaki, PhD
Anjelica Gonzalez, PhD
Marcelo de Oliveira Dietrich, MD, PhD
Nathaniel Bachtel
Scott Pope, PhD
Yoshitaka Kimura
Adaptive Immunity
Allergy and Immunology
Macrophages
Publications
2024
Evolutionary Medicine
Stearns S, Medzhitov R. Evolutionary Medicine. 2024 DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780192871978.001.0001.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsRisk of metastasisPlacental invasionSolid tumorsEvolution of reproductionMental disordersAdaptive therapyPublic healthVaccine developmentEvolution of agingSick personEvolutionary historyEvolutionary insightsPhage therapyPathogen emergenceIndependent evolutionEvolutionary hypothesesHealthEvolutionary aspectsTherapyCancerDiseaseEvolutionary medicineMedical researchChildbirthAdverse Food Reactions: Physiological and Ecological Perspectives.
Korn L, Kutyavin V, Bachtel N, Medzhitov R. Adverse Food Reactions: Physiological and Ecological Perspectives. Annual Review Of Nutrition 2024 PMID: 38724028, DOI: 10.1146/annurev-nutr-061021-022909.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchExploring new perspectives in immunology
Medzhitov R, Iwasaki A. Exploring new perspectives in immunology. Cell 2024, 187: 2079-2094. PMID: 38670066, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.03.038.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsMechanosensing regulates tissue repair program in macrophages
Meizlish M, Kimura Y, Pope S, Matta R, Kim C, Philip N, Meyaard L, Gonzalez A, Medzhitov R. Mechanosensing regulates tissue repair program in macrophages. Science Advances 2024, 10: eadk6906. PMID: 38478620, PMCID: PMC10936955, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adk6906.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsExtracellular matrixRegulate chromatin accessibilityTissue repair programGene expression programsCytoskeletal dynamicsChromatin accessibilityAmoeboid migrationCytoskeletal remodelingBiochemical signalsTissue homeostasisExpression programsColony-stimulating factor-1Tissue-resident macrophagesFactor 1MechanosensingRegulating tissue repairTissue integrityMacrophagesTissueThree-dimensional environmentRepair programHomeostasisNutrient-derived signals regulate eosinophil adaptation to the small intestine
Kutyavin V, Korn L, Medzhitov R. Nutrient-derived signals regulate eosinophil adaptation to the small intestine. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2024, 121: e2316446121. PMID: 38271336, PMCID: PMC10835075, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2316446121.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsRetinoic acid signalingCrypt-villus axisLocalization signalTissue-specific adaptationsAcid signalingAmino acidsFunctional significanceTranscriptional signatureHomeostatic conditionsSmall intestineTissue microenvironmentType 2 immunityPurified amino acidsSignalAccumulationEffector cellsBone marrowIL-5Eosinophil accumulationSubpopulationsIntestineEffectorAdaptationHigh-protein diet
2023
Characterization of behavioral avoidance to a food allergen in different strains of mice
Lima B, Cullen J, de Paula Carvalho L, Bober J, Florsheim E, Medzhitov R, Dietrich M. Characterization of behavioral avoidance to a food allergen in different strains of mice. Brain Behavior And Immunity 2023, 114: 71. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2024.01.204.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2006
Role of Toll-like Receptors in Commensal Dependent Colitis
Rakoff-Nahoum S, Medzhitov R. Role of Toll-like Receptors in Commensal Dependent Colitis. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases 2006, 12: s3-s3. DOI: 10.1097/0054725-200604002-00010.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
Academic Achievements and Community Involvement
honor Elected
National AwardAmerican Academy of Arts and SciencesDetails05/04/2022United States
Links & Media
News
- July 11, 2024Source: Yale Ventures
11 Yale Projects Receive Awards from the Colton Center for Autoimmunity
- April 10, 2024
Dr. Lisa Korn Receives 2024 Dostanic Award
- February 01, 2024
Understanding Environmental Influences on Disease
- January 23, 2024
Medzhitov Is Chosen to Receive Jessie Stevenson Kovalenko Medal
Get In Touch
Contacts
Immunobiology
PO Box 208011, 300 Cedar Street
New Haven, CT 06520
United States