Research

The major research goals of our laboratory are:

- Identifying novel and unusual infectious and autoimmune causes of meningitis, encephalitis and myelitis

- Studying the CNS host response in a variety of neuroinflammatory disorders ranging from tuberculous meningitis, autoimmune encephalitis and multiple sclerosis (MS) to better understand disease pathogenesis and identify transcriptomic profiles that discriminate between different (oftentimes clinically overlapping) conditions

- Partnering with global health partners to bring metagenomic next-generation sequencing for meningitis diagnostics to low resource settings

- Understanding B cell involvement in MS, including detailed characterization of viral and autoantigens

- Understanding immune mechanisms of viral encephalitis, autoimmune encephalitis, neurologic complications of COVID-19 and MS to identify novel therapeutic targets

We work with patients seen at the UCSF Center for Encephalitis and Meningitis, the UCSF MS and Neuroinflammation Center, enrolled in the UCSF EPIC and ORIGINS studies, and referred by doctors around the world to better understand the causes, treatments and immunology underlying a wide array of neuroinflammatory conditions. 

Support

The Wilson Lab appreciates and would like to thank these governmental agencies, nonprofit foundations and companies for their ongoing support of our research:

  • National Institutes of Health
    • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (U01NS120836, R01NS125693, R01NS123712)
    • National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (R01AI145437)
    • National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH122471)
  • UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences
  • Weill Neurohub
  • UCSF Program for Breakthrough Biomedical Research
  • Marcus Foundation
  • Sandler Foundation
  • William K. Bowes, Jr. Foundation
  • Westridge Foundation
  • Roche/Genentech
  • National MS Society
  • Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
  • California Institute for Regenerative Medicine
  • Littera Family
  • O'Shaughnessy Family
  • NORSE Foundation
  • Water Cove Charitable Foundation
  • Valhalla Foundation