Ruslan Medzhitov is interested in understanding biological processes and phenomena from first principles. Currently, Medzhitov and his team have several areas of focus: evolutionary medicine; biology of inflammation and its relation to physiology and homeostasis; mechanisms and functions of allergy; tissue biology; non-canonical functions of the immune system; and the logic of gene expression programs.
New research shows that a region of the brain can ramp the immune system both up and down, opening the door to new scientific discoveries—and to new approaches to tackling a wide range of immune system disorders and diseases, from rheumatoid arthritis to toxic shock syndrome. Six HHMI scientists have been elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine. Waging an immunological war against a pathogen is not the body’s only way to survive an infection. Sometimes learning to live with an invader can be just as important.