Michael G. Constantinides
Mike is an assistant professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at Scripps Research, where his laboratory studies how microbes modulate innate and innate-like lymphocytes. Mike completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health in the laboratory of Dr. Yasmine Belkaid, where he studied how the microbiome influences the development and function of MAIT cells. He determined that early-life microbial exposure imprints the abundance of tissue-resident MAIT cells and subsequent interactions with the microbiota modulate their ability to promote tissue repair. For his Ph.D. research at the University of Chicago, Mike studied the development of innate lymphocytes in the laboratory of Dr. Albert Bendelac. He established that PLZF orchestrates the developmental acquisition of effector functions in iNKT cells and extended this discovery to ILCs. In doing so, Mike identified a committed ILC precursor and determined the lineage relationships between innate lymphocytes. In addition to research, Mike enjoys participating in scientific outreach and exploring the outdoors with his dogs.
Abstracts this author is presenting: