The Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Immunology has presented Greg Esparza with the unique opportunity to collaborate with interdisciplinary researchers who share the same goal: a better understanding of the human immune system in both health and disease.

“This remarkable atmosphere of cooperation has allowed me to develop a better understanding of not only my own research, but of how that research fits into the larger, more nuanced picture of host responses during infection,” said Esparza, a fourth-year graduate student.

Esparza works in Dr. Jerrold Weiss’s lab, where he studies the host response to bacterial pathogens. He is primarily interested in the immune response to a highly toxic compound, endotoxin, which is produced by a specific group of pathogenic bacteria. Esparza says it is the body’s reaction to this product that contributes to the development of several symptoms of bacterial infection such as fever and inflammation.