My research focuses on immunometabolism: how the immune and metabolic systems interact, especially in the context of obesity and in cancer.  We study immunometabolism at both the organismal and cellular level, approaches that are today converging in exciting ways. For example, obesity and cancer cause major changes in systemic metabolism, and this affects immune cell metabolism, which in turn affects immune cell function by altering the fuels available to immune cells. In cancers, including breast, pancreatic, and colorectal cancer, obesity boosts tumor cell lipid metabolism and accelerates tumor growth and metastasis. At the same time, certain lipid species impair anti-tumor immunity and potentially boost pro-tumor immune pathways. Obesity and high-fat diets thus provide a double hit for cancer: boosting tumor growth while impairing anti-tumor immunity. Yet, notably, not all people with obesity have increased cancer risk. Little is known about how some obesogenic diets influence anti-tumor immunity. Some questions we are asking include 1) Can we manipulate metabolic pathways through dietary or therapeutic interventions to boost immunity and reduce cancer risk in obesity? 2) Does the source of fat, for example, animal versus plant fat, affect tumor growth? 3) What biochemical pathways are activated by weight loss that reduce cancer risk? We are also investigating the role of various innate T cells, including γδT cell, iNKT cells and Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT), in tumor control. These T cells reside in tissues and recognize metabolite antigens. We’re exploring what happens to them when tumors develop in tissue, why they’re associated with positive prognosis and which metabolites they recognize as antigens in tumors.

I obtained my PhD in Immunology from University College Dublin in Ireland, and then was awarded a L’Oreal UNESCO International Women in Science Fellowship and a Marie Curie Fellowship to carry out my postdoc in Harvard Medical School, in the labs of Professors Ulrich von Andrian and Michael Brenner. I then started my independent lab at Harvard in 2014 and in 2024 joined Princeton University, where I am now a Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and a full member of the Ludwig Princeton Branch. I am also a Member of the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. My work has been recognized with several awards including the Mark Foundation Emerging Leader Award, the BWH Mentor Award in 2022, the Irish Trailbrazer Award, the John R. Kettman Luminex Award for Excellence in Cytokine Research. I am a member of the AACR President’s Task Force for Aging, Environment and Cancer, and I was recently honored to have my portrait on the wall of the Royal Irish Academy, along with 7 other female scientists, which were the first female portraits in its 240 year history.