Jayne S. Danska PhD

Dr. Danska was raised in New York City and educated in the United States at Kenyon College, Cornell University, Cold Spring Harbor Labs, and Stanford University. Her research is focused on defining the mechanisms underlying immune system diseases and the application of this knowledge to improve their diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. Her lab works on the genetic and environmental causes of autoimmune disease, particularly Type 1 diabetes (T1D), the molecular mechanisms of acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL), and innate immune surveillance of leukemia and leukemia stem cells. She has led multi-disciplinary projects applying genetic, genomic, and immunological analysis to identify T1D-risk genes and to determine how these variants control autoimmune pathogenesis. An evolving focus is the roles of environmental factors in the rising rates of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, specifically the role of the intestinal microbiome in modifying inherited risk of autoimmunity in rodent models and in longitudinal studies in children with high genetic risk for type 1 and type 2 diabetes. This work is also investigating the impact of sex as a key determinant of autoimmune diseases, many of which are far more prevalent in females.