Hehua Dai, MD

Through critical mouse transplantation microsurgery and immunological assays, my research focuses on effective measures to improve the long-term survival of grafted organs and understand immunological mechanisms underlying graft rejection. These measures involve manipulating the immunosuppressive regulatory T-cell population to promote the host tolerance to the transplanted organ, and to suppress graft rejection mediated by memory T cells via altering important cytokines, chemokines, co-stimulation and enzymes in the immune system. They also involve defining the mechanism of allorecognition by monocytes that are the principal source at graft site of innate cells that modulate adaptive immunity. These studies have important clinical implications for the cure of end-stage heart and kidney diseases as well as type 1 diabetes through solid organ, islet, or bone marrow plug transplantation.