Hajera Amatullah, PhD, MPH aims to provide evidence of epigenetic dysregulation (which explores how environmental factors turn genes on or off without altering the DNA itself) in myeloid cells (immune cells that respond to diverse environmental signals) as contributors of systemic lupus erythematosus pathology. This will shed light on potentially novel targets for therapeutic strategies for children with lupus.

Some patients with Crohn's disease have a genetic risk factor: mutations in a chromatin reader known as speckled protein 140 (SP140), which is expressed only in macrophages and other immune cells. This study sought to determine the normal function of SP140 as well as how alterations in the protein affect chromatin structure and can eventually lead to immune disease.