Dr. Taku Kambayashi’s laboratory studies the cell signaling mechanisms that control immune responses. In particular, they are currently seeking to understand how cell signaling through immunoreceptors affects the development, education, function, and homeostasis of regulatory T cells (a subset of T cells with inhibitory activity) and natural killer (NK) cells. Balancing activation and inhibition of immune cells is critical for a healthy immune system; too little or too much activation could result in immunodeficiency or hypersensitivity, respectively. By understanding the biochemical events that govern immune cell regulation, we can start to manipulate the immune response to treat a variety of disease states. Currently, the Kambayashi lab is focusing on targeting intracellular signaling pathways during allogeneic bone marrow transplantation, in attempts to alleviate T cell–mediated graft-versus-host disease and to enhance graft-versus-tumor effects by T cells and NK cells. The long-term goal of Dr. Kambayashi’s group is to continue to identify signaling pathways that can be targeted for therapeutic manipulation of immune responses in cancer and immunopathologic diseases.