Dr. Abdul-Sater’s research program is focused on understanding how inflammation is regulated and on exploring ways to modulate the inflammatory response to provide platforms to develop new therapies for autoimmune diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthrits.
Specifically, Dr. Abdul-Sater’s lab is interested in identifying novel regulators of inflammation and understanding the molecular mechanisms through which these regulators control innate and adaptive immunity. The lab is currently pursuing several avenues of research under this umbrella:
1) Selective targeting of TRAF1 through genetic manipulation (knock-in mutation, CRISPR/Cas9, CreLoxP knockouts) to diminish its interaction with its protein partners and study its role in inflammatory response, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis using cellular and mouse models.
2) Investigating the molecular mechanisms through which different exercise regimens regulate the innate immune response in human and mouse cohorts.
3) The effects of emerging air pollutants (non-carbon sources) on cellular toxicity, inflammation and autoimmune rheumatic diseases. Cellular and mouse models are employed for these projects.
To answer our hypotheses, our Lab is equipped with state of the art infrastructure that allow us to employ a wide variety of techniques that encompass cutting-edge molecular and biochemical approaches.
Our team collaborates with internal and external collaborators of biologists, clinicians, and chemists from Muscle Health Research Center (MHRC), University Health Network (UHN), and Environment Canada and Climate Change (ECCC).