Rate My Professor Omid Akbari

His research characterizes acquired and innate immune responses at mucosal surfaces such as lung and gut, investigates regulatory mechanisms underlying inflammatory and allergic diseases including asthma and airway hyperreactivity, and develops strategies to manipulate these responses therapeutically. Focusing on regulatory T cells, dendritic cells, and innate lymphoid cells particularly ILC2s, his studies address vaccination, autoimmunity, inflammation, cancer, and infection. With over 15,000 citations, key publications include "Pulmonary dendritic cells producing IL-10 mediate tolerance induced by respiratory exposure to antigen" (Nature Immunology, 2001), "Antigen-specific regulatory T cells develop via the ICOS–ICOS-ligand pathway and inhibit allergen-induced airway hyperreactivity" (Nature Medicine, 2002), "Essential role of NKT cells producing IL-4 and IL-13 in the development of allergen-induced airway hyperreactivity" (Nature Medicine, 2003), "Dietary Fiber-Induced Microbial Short Chain Fatty Acids Suppress ILC2-Dependent Airway Inflammation" (2019), and "Iron controls the development of airway hyperreactivity by regulating ILC2 metabolism and effector function" (Science Translational Medicine, 2024). Awards include American Lung Association fellowship award and Research Grant, Pharmacia award for best research in Immunology, Henning Loewenstein Research award, and Eleanor and Miles Shore award from Harvard Medical School. His work advances therapeutic targets for immune lung diseases.