Cardiac Immunology
Biomedical Research Lab
Cardiac Immunology
Biomedical Research Lab
About DickLab
Our Mission
The Dick lab studies the intersection between immunology and cardiac biology to better understand the immune cells that reside in the heart and the local niche factors that govern them. The ultimate goal of this research is to develop novel immunotherapies to treat heart disease.
Macrophage Biology
In the lab we focus on a type of innate immune cell that resides in all tissues throughout the body known as tissue resident macrophages. These cells have important generalized functions, such as phagocytosis of dead cells and clearance of cellular debris, in addition to many tissue-specific functions. In the heart for example, cardiac resident macrophages play a critical role in development (coronary artery patterning), function (electrical conductance), and repair (infarct healing). Although macrophages were identified more than a century ago, we are only starting to understand the local factors and cell circuits that control cell density, longevity, and polarization.
Translational Research
My research interests are aimed at understanding the signals and tissue niche factors that mediate these processes and how these cell interactomes can become dysregulated in disease. Using mouse models of ischemic injury (ie. heart attack), genetic fate mapping, and single-cell RNA-sequencing, we study macrophage heterogeneity in the heart and how resident macrophage subsets expand in number to infer their protective and regenerative functions. Our overall goal is to improve cardiovascular health through a better understanding of tissue immunology and inflammation