The Halkias lab studies the cellular and molecular signals that drive human immune development with a focus on understanding how early life host-microbe interactions influence adaptive immune responses to perinatal inflammatory disorders such as preterm birth. Early life is a critical time in immune development marked by rapid exposure to environmental antigens. Microbial colonization of mucosal tissues plays a key role in the development and education of the host immune system and influences the susceptibility to immune-mediated disease later in life.

I am a mechanical engineer and bioengineer. My laboratory studies interactions between microbes, musculoskeletal tissues and materials. We are currently studying the effects of the gut microbiome on the musculoskeletal system and the success of orthopaedic surgery. Additionally we are studying mechanobiology of bacteria and advancing the new field of Engineered Living Materials.

I am a pulmonary and critical care medicine specialist with a research focus on pulmonary diseases affecting persons with HIV with a global perspective. I am a clinical-translational researcher with clinical cohorts in San Francisco, CA and in Kampala, Uganda.

Currently, I am PI/Co-PI on these main studies:

Dr. Laura Jelliffe-Pawlowski is the Chief of the Division of Lifecourse Epidemiology and a Professor of Epidemiology & Biostatistics and of Global Health Sciences in the UCSF School of Medicine. She is also the Director of Precision Health and Discovery with the UCSF California Preterm Birth Initiative, the Lead and Founder of the UCSF HOPE Research Consortium, the Primary Investigator of the HOPE Study, and a Primary Investigator (multi-PI) of the PROMPT Study.