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About us
The Arifuzzaman Lab seeks to uncover the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which diet and microbiota regulate the immune system. Our Lab is part of the Division of Gastroenterology in the Department of Medicine and is affiliated with several centers and institutes at Weill Cornell Medicine, including the Friedman Center for Nutrition and Inflammation, the Drukier Institute for Children's Health, and the Jill Roberts Institute for Research in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. We are located in an exceptional research hub in New York City, with access to cutting-edge technology and numerous opportunities for collaboration with colleagues at Weill Cornell and surrounding research centers.
Research
The intestinal microbiota produce hundreds of bioactive small molecule metabolites which regulate diverse physiological processes in the host including immunity and metabolism. Nutritional status of the host can alter both the composition and metabolic output of the microbiota, which in turn has a major impact on the nature of immune response. However, to date, most microbial metabolites, their regulation by diet, and their effects on host immunity and metabolism remain unknown. To this end, Arifuzzaman lab has adopted a metabolomics-based approach that combines targeted and untargeted metabolomics with bacterial genetics and host transcriptomics. This approach allows identification of the microbial metabolites, microbial genes, and host receptors involved in the regulation of immune and metabolic responses in various settings including inflammatory and metabolic diseases, infection, and cancer.
The overarching goal of the Arifuzzaman laboratory is to uncover how gut microbial adaptation to changes in nutrition impacts immune and metabolic homeostasis, and to identify microbial metabolites and host receptors involved in this process. The ultimate goals of this line of research are to identify molecular mechanisms by which environmental factors shape immune responses and facilitate designing novel intervention and therapeutic strategies for the prevention and treatment of disease.
Current efforts in the laboratory are focused on the impact of diet and microbial metabolites on i) intestinal inflammation and tumorigenesis, and ii) immune-metabolic interactions in the context of obesity and liver disease.
We believe that diversity in background, experience, and perspective is instrumental to creativity and innovation, and welcomes trainees and scientists from diverse backgrounds.
People
Mohammad (Arif) Arifuzzaman
Arif was born and brought up in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He obtained his B.S. and M.S. in Biochemistry in Molecular Biology with distinctions from the University of Dhaka. During his M.S. thesis at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b) under Dr. Firdausi Qadri, Arif became interested in mucosal infection and immunity. Prior to his doctoral training, Arif worked on T-cell responses to gastrointestinal infections as an NIH Fogarty Fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Arif earned his Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology from Duke University, where he studied innate immune defense mechanisms of mast cells and macrophages in Soman Abraham’s lab. He pursued his postdoctoral training with David Artis, focusing on the regulation of eosinophils by gut microbiota. During this time, he developed his current research program, which centers on understanding the role of diet and microbiota in mucosal immunity and beyond. Arif is interested in studying the signaling pathways of various microbiota-derived small molecules that influence host immunity in the contexts of infection, inflammation, metabolic homeostasis, and cancer. He aims to define the molecular mechanisms of immunoregulation mediated by dietary and microbial components, with the goal of designing precision nutrition and therapeutics to prevent and treat disease. Arif’s less scientific interests also include a passion for food and diet, as he enjoys learning about food culture and food psychology across different parts of the world, as well as discovering the endless culinary options that New York City has to offer.
Elin Hu
Elin is the lab manager and research technician in the Arifuzzaman Lab at Weill Cornell Medicine and is originally from Long Island, New York. She graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia University with a B.A. in Neuroscience and Behavior. Prior to joining the Arifuzzaman Lab, Elin studied the neurobiological underpinnings of aging and the effect of sleep-deprivation induced oxidative stress in the gut on aging in fruit flies. Now, in addition to her previous research endeavors, she is interested in studying the influence of diet on neuro-immune interactions. Fun fact: Elin also trained as a pastry chef in Paris for a year! When she is not in the lab, you can find Elin baking cakes, hosting dinner parties, knitting, and getting out of the city to hike.
Recent Publications
- Won TH*, Arifuzzaman M*, Parkhurst CN*, Miranda IC, Zhang B, Hu E, Kashyap S, Letourneau J, Jin WB, Fu Y, Guzior DV, JRI Live Cell Bank, Quinn RA, Guo CJ, David LA, Artis D, Schroeder FC. Host metabolism balances microbial regulation of bile acid signaling. Nature (in press).
Li TT, Chen X, Huo D, Arifuzzaman M, Qiao S, Jin WB, Shi H, Li XV, JRI Live Cell Bank, Iliev ID, Artis D, Guo CJ. Microbiota metabolism of intestinal amino acids impacts host nutrient homeostasis and physiology. Cell Host & Microbe. 2024 May 08;32(5):661-675. PMID: 38657606.
Arifuzzaman M✉, Won TH, Yano H, Uddin J, Emanuel E, Hu E, Zhang W, Li TT, Jin WB, Kashyap S, Grier A, JRI Live Cell Bank, Guo CJ, Schroeder FC, Artis D✉. Dietary fiber is a critical determinant of protective versus pathologic ILC2 responses and barrier inflammation. Journal of Experimental Medicine. 2024 May 06;221(5). PMID: 38506708.
Featured on the cover of the issue.
Emanuel E*, Arifuzzaman M*, Artis D. Epithelial-neuronal-immune cell interactions: implications for immunity, inflammation, and tissue homeostasis at mucosal sites. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 2024 May;153(5):1169-1180. PMID: 38369030.
Featured on the cover of the issue.
Arifuzzaman M✉, Collins N, Guo CJ, and Artis D✉. Nutritional regulation of microbiota-derived metabolites: implications for immunity and inflammation. Immunity. 2024 Jan 09;57(1):14-27. PMID: 38198849.
Featured on the cover of the issue.
Jarick KJ, Topczewska PM, Jakob MO, Yano H, Arifuzzaman M, Gao X, Boulekou S, Stokic-Trtica V, Leclère PS, Preußer A, Rompe ZA, Stamm A, Tsou AM, Chu C, Heinrich FR, Guerra GM, Durek P, Ivanov A, Beule D, Helfrich S, Duerr CU, Kühl AA, Stehle C, Romagnani C, Mashreghi MF, Diefenbach A, Artis D, Klose CSN. Non-redundant functions of group 2 innate lymphoid cells. Nature. 2022 Nov 02;611(7937):794-800. PMID: 36323785.
Arifuzzaman M, Won TH, Li TT, Yano H, Digumarthi S, Heras AF, Zhang W, Parkhurst CN, Kashyap S, Jin WB, Putzel GG, Tsou AM, Chu C, Wei Q, Grier A, JRI IBD Live Cell Bank Consortium, Worgall S, Guo CJ, Schroeder FC, Artis D. Inulin fibre promotes microbiota-derived bile acids and type 2 inflammation. Nature. 2022 Nov 02;611(7936):578-584. PMID: 36323778.
Highlighted in Nature Metabolism: Attwaters M. From inulin to inflammation. 2022 Nov 18; 4(11):1433.
Highlighted in Cell Research: Cohen Y, Elinav E. Dietary fibers & immunity: more than meets the eye. 2023 Jan 16.
Zhang W, Lyu M, Bessman NJ, Xie Z, Arifuzzaman M, Yano H, Parkhurst CN, Chu C, Zhou L, Putzel GG, Li TT, Jin WB, Zhou J, JRI Live Cell Bank, Hu H, Tsou AM, Guo CJ, Artis D. Gut-innervating nociceptors regulate the intestinal microbiota to promote tissue protection. Cell. 2022 Oct 27;185(22):4170-4189.e20. PMID: 36240781.
Jin WB, Li TT, Huo D, Qu S, Li XV, Arifuzzaman M, Lima S, Shi H, Wang A, Putzel GG, Longman RS, Artis D, Guo, CJ. Genetic manipulation of gut microbes enables single-gene interrogation in a complex microbiome. Cell. 2022 Jan 13;S0092-8674(21)01541-5. PMID: 35051369.
Chu C, Parkhurst CN, Zhang W, Zhou L, Yano H, Arifuzzaman M, Artis D. The ChAT-acetylcholine pathway promotes group 2 innate lymphoid cell responses and anti-helminth immunity. Science Immunology. 2021 Mar 5;6(57):eabe3218. PMID: 33674322.
*Co-first authors; ✉Co-corresponding authors
News
Contact Us
Graduate students and postdoctoral researchers are encouraged to directly contact Dr. Arifuzzaman to discuss potential rotation projects and open positions in the laboratory.
