Kumi Nagamoto-Combs, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Project: Effect of peripheral immune responses on brain function and behavior
Mentor: Kumi Nagamoto-Combs, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Location: Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine & Health Sciences
Description: Did you know that not all food allergies manifest in hives and a swollen tongue? Have you felt anxious or nervous after eating certain foods? Evidence supports that the body's inflammatory responses to food allergens affect brain function and behavior. Our research focuses on the interaction between the immune and the nervous systems triggered by such responses. Using a mouse model of cow's milk allergy, we investigate how the body's hypersensitivity reactions to an allergen can change brain physiology via activated immune cells. REU students will learn basic immunology, intestinal and brain anatomy and histology, and various histochemical and molecular techniques as they analyze biological samples from experimental mice.
