Cells are the building blocks of living systems. Most, if not all, diseases are caused by or induce alterations in cellular function. To this end, we study the fundamental workings of cells during health and disease, using a blend of bioinformatic, experimental, and theoretical tools, as well as modern AI.  As famously stated, “no man is an island”. The same is true for cells; they do live in a tissue and organ context. Hence, we integrate deep cell-type-specific genomics with spatial transcriptomics.

We focus on two of the most critical and complex systems, namely the immune and the nervous system.  The immune system, with its diverse cell populations, both drives and responds to disease, while the bone marrow, its production center, plays a key role in cancer biology. Thus, the immune system is of fundamental biological and translational interest.  Next, we take a multimodal integrative approach towards understanding the Brain, one of the last frontiers in science. Motivated by the societal burden of neurological disease and the quest for generalizable principles of intelligence, we aim to bridge biological and artificial systems to advance both medicine and AI safety.

Our work on the immune and nervous system may inform new therapeutic strategies and inspire next-generation AI architectures.