Rate My Professor Omid Akbari

Omid Akbari, Ph.D., is Professor of Immunology and Professor of Medicine in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. He obtained his Ph.D. in Immunology from Brigitta Stockinger’s laboratory in the Division of Molecular Immunology at the National Institute for Medical Research, London, UK. He conducted postdoctoral work at Stanford University before joining Harvard Medical School in 2004 as Assistant Professor of Allergy and Immunology. In 2008, he became Professor of Immunology at USC Keck School of Medicine. Dr. Akbari serves as Associate Editor of several journals and reviews for NIH and non-NIH study sections.

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.