The Khor Lab is pioneering new ways to understand how the immune system works and why it sometimes goes awry. Using advanced tools to study antigen-specific immune cells, the lab seeks to uncover how immune responses are dysregulated in people with Down syndrome. This work sheds light on challenges unique to this population while also revealing broader insights into aging, autoimmunity and vaccine responses.
A central focus of the Khor Lab’s research is discovering novel pathways that regulate immune tolerance and inflammation, with the goal of informing precision therapies tailored to individual patients. By studying the human immune system in depth, researchers are identifying promising new targets for treatment and uncovering shared principles that connect seemingly distinct immune system diseases.
Collaboration is fundamental to the lab’s approach, bringing together experts in genetics, chemistry, computation and clinical research. Trainees are supported in a creative, rigorous and collaborative environment, where innovative approaches to clinically relevant questions are encouraged.
Bernard Khor, MD, PhD
Lab Members
Emma Bols
Suzie Ruskin
Research Projects
Aging and Down Syndrome: The Immune System and Beyond
People with Down syndrome often experience health challenges that resemble aspects of accelerated aging, including a higher risk of infections and reduced protection from some vaccines, such as influenza and COVID-19.
Dissecting the Mechanisms Driving Autoimmunity in People With Down Syndrome
People with Down syndrome face a strikingly higher risk of developing autoimmune disease — in some cases up to 100 times greater than in the general population.
Understanding How DYRK1A Regulates T Cell Biology
A healthy immune system depends on balance. Inflammation is essential for fighting infection, but when it becomes excessive or misdirected, it can drive autoimmune and inflammatory disease.
Featured Publications
Defining a novel DYRK1A-gp130/IL-6R-pSTAT axis that regulates Th17 differentiation.
Immunohorizons
Down syndrome: insights into autoimmune mechanisms.
Nat Rev Rheumatol
FRTX-02, a selective and potent inhibitor of DYRK1A, modulates inflammatory pathways in mouse models of psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.
J Transl Autoimmun
Deep immune phenotyping reveals similarities between aging, Down syndrome, and autoimmunity.
Sci Transl Med
Tonic interferon restricts pathogenic IL-17-driven inflammatory disease via balancing the microbiome.
Elife
Participants like Ayman Make Research Possible
Ayman, 23, enjoys playing the drums and working at MOD Pizza — he was even in one of MOD’s TV commercials. He loves Pepper, his schnoodle (schnauzer-poodle).
$3.5 Million to Study Down Syndrome and the Immune System
What goes wrong in the immune system that causes autoimmune disease or limits its ability to fight infections? That’s the question Bernard Khor, MD, PhD, started with 12 years ago. His search for answers led him somewhere unexpected: to people with Down syndrome.
Research Fuels Change: One Family’s Motivation to Participate
Becky Ronan has seen firsthand how research has impacted life for people with Down syndrome. When her older brother Kevin was born with Down syndrome in 1967, her parents were advised not to bring him home. “Most people with Down syndrome were put in institutions,” Becky says.
News
Benaroya Research Institute Awarded $11 Million Across Eight Grants in Second Half of 2024 to Predict, Prevent, Reverse and Cure Immune System Diseases
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Benaroya Research Institute Receives $9 Million in Funding, With a Focus on Down Syndrome Research
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