The goal of our research is to understand immune interactions that underlie the pathogenesis and regulation of immune-based disease. A major focus of the laboratory is the immune-mediated, demyelinating disease, multiple sclerosis (MS). Through studies in human MS and its animal model, experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), we are dissecting the role of autoreactive and regulatory CD8+ and CD4+ T-cells in the intrinsic as well as therapeutic modulation of disease. An additional intent of these studies is also to unveil the regulatory components of the healthy immune system. Another major field of interest is the elucidation of immune dysregulation during hepatitis C viral infection and its therapy. We are also closely involved in several collaborative projects, including in vitro allodepletion in hematopoeitic stem cell transplantation to alleviate graft-versus-host disease and clinical projects involving immunophenotypic characterization and multi-modality diagnostics of hematolymphoid disorders and the development and evaluation of newer diagnostic test technologies in cellular immunology and clinical flow cytometry.