Branco Weiss Fellow Since
2021
Research Category
Immunology, Developmental Biology
Research Location
Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, USA
Background
Mammals and their immune system evolved in the face of a microbially rich environment, in particular constitutive helminth colonization. Although over a billion people worldwide remain infected, worms have been largely eliminated in high-income countries. The removal of these evolutionary partners has been proposed to contribute to the dramatic increase in allergy and autoimmune diseases, a phenomenon referred to as the ‘hygiene hypothesis’. Epidemiological evidence has revealed that early-life exposures play a pivotal role in shaping long-term immune function. How the removal of helminths during critical developmental window associate with fetal development remains elusive.
Details of Research
The aim of Dr. Ai Ing Lim’s research is to uncover how maternal helminth exposure shapes the offspring immune system in the long term. She hypothesized that the maternal-helminth partnerships may direct offspring immune development toward immunoregulation, thereby reducing susceptibility to inflammatory disorders, termed as ‘pre-birth hygiene hypothesis’. Using complementary approaches and physiological model, she will assess the impact of maternal worm infection on the offspring immunity and susceptibility to immune disorders. She will integrate the roles of the microbiota, lactation, and epigenetic inheritance on maternal helminth-offspring immune crosstalk. This cross-disciplinary project at the intersection of immunity, infection and developmental biology represents a novel and frontier research with profound implications to prevent and treat immune disorders.
