Research
The food we eat directly shapes the trajectory of immune responses by regulating nutrient availability and cellular metabolism. Nutrition also impacts the immune system indirectly by regulating host physiology and the gut microbiota. As a result of this, host nutrition plays a major role in determining the frequency and severity of non-communicable and infectious diseases. However, we still lack a fundamental understanding of how nutrition regulates immune responses. Therefore, the overarching goal of the Collins laboratory is to develop a mechanistic understanding of how nutrition regulates the immune system. This line of research integrates cellular metabolism, host physiology and the gut microbiota. It is expected to have broad implications for the design of therapies that prevent and treat infectious and inflammatory diseases, autoimmunity, allergy, and cancer.
Current Projects:
- Establishing how nutrition impacts immune responses in contexts of infections, autoimmunity and cancer
- Determining how eating patterns and food composition impact immune responses in different individuals
Bio
Nick completed his B.Sc with majors in Immunology and Pathology at The University of Melbourne, Australia. He then completed a PhD in the laboratories of Drs. Frank Carbone and Thomas Gebhardt (The University of Melbourne) investigating circulating and tissue-resident memory T cell responses in the skin. After graduating, Nick joined the laboratory of Dr. Yasmine Belkaid at the National Institutes of Health for his postdoctoral fellowship. There, he studied the impact of nutrition on immune responses.
Distinctions:
- Charles Frueauff Foundation Scholar
- Feldstein Medical Foundation
- Society for Mucosal Immunology (SMI) Traveling Scholar
- K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award Recipient