Welcome to the Cooper lab!
The Cooper lab is focused on mechanisms of immune cell control, including regulation of natural killer cell activation and molecular mechanisms driving pediatric immune-mediated disease.
Natural killer (NK) cells are innate immune lymphocytes that produce cytokines and can kill target cells. They are important for the early control of viral infection and also play a role in tumor immunosurveillance. Current work in the laboratory is focused on understanding how metabolic pathways regulate NK cell functional responses. The second focus of our laboratory is on the origins of pediatric immune dysregulation. We use genomic sequencing to identify genetic causes of pediatric disease and work to better understand these diseases using in vitro and in vivo models.
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Learn more about current projects and opportunities.
Principal Investigator
Megan Cooper, MD, PhD
Megan Cooper, MD, PhD, is a pediatric rheumatologist/immunologist at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. She is the Director of Clinical Immunology at Children’s and an Associate Director of the Medical Scientist Training Program at Washington University School of Medicine. She received her MD and PhD from The Ohio State University before coming to Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis for her pediatric residency and fellowship in pediatric rheumatology.
Currently, her lab focuses on elucidating mechanisms of immune cell control with an interest in both natural killer (NK) cell activation and the molecular mechanisms of pediatric immune-mediated disease.
Work in our laboratory is supported by…
National Institutes of Health
Jeffrey Modell Foundation
Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation
The Children’s Discovery Institute
Immune Deficiency Foundation
St. Louis Children’s Hospital Foundation