Immunity and Host Defense Study Section – IHD

Topics

• Mechanistic investigations of innate and adaptive immune responses, which include but are not limited to the characterization of systemic and tissue-localized immune cells, receptors, and host factors in response to pathogenic microbes
• Mucosal immunity to microbes: host immune responses at mucosal sites to microbes and immune regulation by the microbiomes; induction and modulation of mucosal immune responses; comparison of mucosal immunity to systemic immunity, differentiation of immune responses at the mucosa and peripheral lymphoid tissues; immune cell migration to mucosal sites, including inductive and effector sites
• Modulation of immune response by microbes as model systems to study the host immune system
• Maternal/neonatal immune responses to microbes

Shared Interests and Overlaps

There are shared interests with bacterial study sections, namely Bacterial Virulence (BV) and Bacterial Host Interactions (BHI) in responses by immune cells to bacteria. Applications focused on the bacterium or pathogenic mechanism may be reviewed in PCMB, BV, or BHI. Applications focused on the immune mechanisms associated with the host response to bacterial infections and those utilizing bacteria as tools to stimulate an immune response may be reviewed in IHD.

There are shared interests with viral study sections, namely Molecular and Cellular Biology of Virus Infection (MCV), Viral Pathogenesis and Immunity (VPI), and Viral Dynamics and Transmission (VDT) in the response by immune cells to viruses. Mechanisms of viral host evasion and identification of determinants of susceptibility or resistance may be reviewed by MCV, VPI, or VDT. The general mechanisms by which the immune system responds to viral persistence may be reviewed by IHD.

There are shared interests with Pathogenic Eukaryotes (PTHE) in the response by immune cells to eukaryotic pathogens. Applications where the focus is on the eukaryotic pathogen may be reviewed by PTHE. Applications with a focus on the immune response to a eukaryotic pathogen trigger may be reviewed in IHD.

There are shared interests in immune responses to pathogens with complex life cycles with Transmission of Vector-borne and Zoonotic Diseases (TVZ). Applications that emphasize non-human reservoirs of infection or aim to perturb transmission across organisms may be reviewed in TVZ. Applications that emphasize fundamental mechanisms of immunological responses to pathogens or disease persistence may be reviewed in IHD.

There are shared interests with Vaccines against Infectious Diseases (VID) in immune responses to microbes. Applications that emphasize generation or testing of vaccines or immune responses to vaccines may be reviewed in VID. Applications that emphasize basic immunological studies, such as mechanistic studies of the innate, systemic, and mucosal immune responses to microbial organisms, may be reviewed by IHD.

There are shared interests with Digestive System Host Defense, Microbial Interactions and Immune and Inflammatory Diseases (DHMI), Clinical Neuroimmunology and Brain Tumors (CNBT), and Hepatobiliary Pathophysiology (HBBP).  Applications addressing microbe-host immune or inflammatory interactions relevant to the diseases or disorders of the gastrointestinal tract (DHMI), nervous system (CNBT), and hepatobiliary system (HBPP) due to infection may be reviewed in the respective study section noted. Applications with a focus on innate and adaptive response to a wide variety of pathogens may be reviewed in IHD.

There are shared interests with Etiology, Diagnostic, Intervention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases (EDIT) in analyzing human immune responses. Applications that emphasize population-level analyses or clinical trials may be reviewed in EDIT. Applications that emphasize human cells or small-scale human sample analyses may be reviewed in IHD.

There are shared interests with Adaptive Immunity (AI). Applications with a greater focus on the adaptive immune response itself, irrespective of the tissue site, may be reviewed in AI. In addition, applications that use chronic infection models (i. e. LCMV) to mimic antigen stimulation to study immune cell processes such as exhaustion, development and migration may be reviewed in AI. Applications focused on a protective adaptive or innate immune response to a specific pathogen may be reviewed in IHD.

There are shared interests with Immune Mechanisms of Hypersensitivity and Allergy (IMHA) in immune responses to microbes. Applications involving host responses to infectious agents, including applications that focus on how changes in the microbiome may affect a protect response to an infectious agent, may be reviewed in IHD, whereas applications involving innate or adaptive immune responses to environmental factors such as the microbiome and non-pathogenic molecules, in the context of hypersensitivities and allergic diseases may be reviewed in IMHA. Applications that investigate infectious microbes that initiate or exacerbate allergy/asthma may also be reviewed in IMHA.

There are shared interests with Immunobiology of Transplantation and Alloimmunity (ITA). Applications that focus on understanding immune responses to an infectious agent may be reviewed in IHD, whereas applications that focus on understanding the impact of infection with a focus on transplant outcomes (e.g., acute or chronic rejection, tolerance, donor-specific antibodies, allograft biopsies, biomarkers) may be reviewed in ITA. Applications investigating maternal/neonatal immune responses to microbes may be reviewed by IHD, whereas those investigating the mechanisms of immune tolerance during pregnancy may be reviewed in ITA.

There are shared interests with Lung Immunology and Infection (LII). While both study sections review applications focused on innate and adaptive immune responses to a wide variety of pathogens, applications that involve the pathological and functional consequences of pulmonary immune responses to infection are reviewed in LII, applications more focused on studying immune host defense responses against pulmonary infections are reviewed in IHD.

There are shared interests with Molecular and Structural Immunology (MSI). Applications focused on the structural, biochemical and/or biophysical aspects of the immune response irrespective of the tissue site may be reviewed in MSI. Applications focused on the protective immune response to a specific pathogen may be reviewed in IHD. 

There are shared interests with Innate Immunity A (IIDA (81)). Applications with a greater focus on the immunobiology of innate immune cells, irrespective of the tissue site, may be reviewed in IIDA (81). Applications focused on the protective innate immune response to a specific pathogen may be reviewed in IHD. 

There are shared interests with Innate Immunity B (IIB). Applications focused on the protective innate immune response to a specific pathogen may be reviewed in IHD. Applications with a greater focus on the innate immune response itself, irrespective of the immune stimulus, may be reviewed in IIB. Applications using in vitro and in vivo infectious disease animal and mammalian models to study protective innate immune responses may be reviewed in IHD, whereas applications using genetically tractable animal and non-mammalian models of innate immunity, such as drosophila and zebrafish, may be reviewed in IIB.

There are shared interests with Skin and Connective Tissue Science (SCTS) in the investigation of immune responses to skin infections. Applications focused on the pathological consequences of immune responses to skin infections may be reviewed in SCTS. Applications focused on studying immune host defense against skin infections may be reviewed in IHD.