Center for Clinical and Translational Science

Leanne Johnson-Huang completed her Ph.D. in 2007 at the University of Pennsylvania, studying the role of cytokines in helper T cell differentiation during parasitic infections. However, her goal was to work in a translational setting, applying her skills to the study of human health and disease. Dr. Johnson-Huang is particularly interested in human cutaneous immunology, because investigators have direct access to skin tissue and can study immune responses within the skin with relative ease. She joined the Laboratory for Investigative Dermatology at The Rockefeller University early in 2008 as a post-doctoral associate.

Dr. Johnson-Huang is currently exploring the immune mechanisms that may regulate inflammation in psoriasis. Her recent studies have uncovered a potential anti-inflammatory pathway that fails to function in psoriasis. Dr. Johnson-Huang was awarded the Linda and Leonard Berkowitz post-doctoral fellowship in June 2011. This 12 month fellowship, made possible by the Mazer Foundation, will help facilitate her research into the role of cytokines in autoimmune inflammation in psoriasis. Knowledge of these anti-inflammatory pathways is not only crucial for the development of novel therapeutics, but can also be extended to the understanding of other autoimmune diseases, with the ultimate goal being to prevent inflammation.