Immunology is at the threshold of healthcare transformation.

Major clinical advances over the last 10 years have enriched basic understanding of the immune system to the point of translation, and there is the promise of great success with antibody therapies and other forms of immunotherapy. The value of close interactions among researchers studying cancer, infectious diseases, autoimmunity, and transplant rejection is now readily apparent.

Executive Leadership

Director of the Immunology Research Theme Dr. Gay Crooks

Gay M. Crooks, MD

Director, Immunity, Inflammation, Infection, & Transplantation (I3T) Theme

Dr. Crooks holds the Rebecca Smith Chair and is a Professor in the Departments of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine and Pediatrics. She received her medical degree from the University of Western Australia, and after Pediatrics training at Princess Margaret Hospital in Perth, Western Australia, she became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP). 

Her clinical expertise in human hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation and her research program in HSC, pluripotent stem cells (PSC), and T cell development enable her work to reach into the fields of developmental immunology, regenerative medicine, transplantation, and cancer immunotherapy. Dr. Crooks holds leadership positions at UCLA, including director of the JCCC Cancer and Stem Cell Biology Program area and co-chair of the Basic and Translational COVID-19 Research Task Force.

Leadership Council

rob prins

Robert M. Prins, PhD, MS
Professor

Departments of Neurosurgery and Molecular and Medical Pharmacology

Headshot of Elaine F. Reed

Elaine F. Reed, PhD 
Daljit S. and Elaine Sarkaria Endowed Chair in Diagnostic Medicine

Professor of Pathology 

Director, UCLA Immunogenetics Center 

Vice Chair, Research Services 

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine 

donald kohn

Donald B. Kohn, MD
Distinguished Professor

Departments of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, Pediatrics, Molecular & Medical Pharmacology 

manish butte

Manish Butte, MD, PhD

E. Richard Stiehm Endowed Chair

Professor, Departments of Pediatrics, Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics

Division Chief of Immunology, Allergy, and Rheumatology

melody li

Melody Man Hing Li, PhD

Associate Professor

Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics