The Delano Lab, led by Dr. Matthew J. Delano, conducts basic and translational research across the fields of immunology and inflammation biology. Our work is focused on understanding the mechanisms responsible for long-term immune cell dysregulation and immune suppression associated with trauma, sepsis and chronic inflammation. More specifically, we're investigating the impact of diabetes and obesity on immune function and organ damage and failure following traumatic injury and sepsis. Understanding the role these comorbidities play will help us improve outcomes among our most vulnerable patients.
Through our clinical practice in acute care surgery, we see firsthand how traumatic injuries impact and are impacted by comorbid obesity and diabetes. Through our lab, we use preclinical models to investigate why problems such as persistent infection, organ injury and organ failure occur in trauma patients. We also screen and test targeted therapies to mitigate those consequences. Our goal, put simply, is to identify the particular cellular-level defects driving these long-term problems and find therapies to treat, if not prevent, them.