Heber Lara
Heber Lara, Graduate Student, UW Department of Immunology
Year Joined: 2019
Email: Larahi@uw.edu
UW Box: 358059
Lab: Moltke Lab
Social Media: LinkedIn
Affinity Groups: Cientifico Latino Core Team Member
Why I chose UW Immunology
This department was pushing forward the science I was interested in and I wanted to be a part of that. The community within it was strong and it felt like a great place to be holistically supported in my scientific development. A couple years in, I can happily say my impressions have held up. We’re also in a beautiful city, that helps.
Activities and Interests
I came into Seattle with a lot of indoor hobbies and some, like cooking and baking, have remained a steady part of my life. Seattle has a strong artistic scene. It encouraged me to take up digital illustration, graphic design and even simple music production. Like many here, I like hiking and backpacking. I’ve also joined a good part of the city in indoor bouldering.
Advice from me
The most important thing for me in moving to a new city and especially Seattle was finding a strong supportive community or handful of friends. Including some outside of science. It has helped put my work and progress in perspective. Regular therapy and exercise have also been essential for me settling into the city and life style of a graduate student.
More about me
I study the type-2 immune response in the small intestine of mice. The small intestine acts both as a nutrient absorption site and barrier to potential pathogens. The balance of “taking in” or “excluding out” is highlighted in a parasitic worm infection. Here, a specific epithelial cell, the tuft cell, senses the parasite and activates nearby immune cells (ILC2s) to induce the secretion of type-2 cytokines. These cytokines both act to recruit and support more destructive cells like eosinophils, but also lead to the remodeling of the tissue. I study how these cytokines, specifically IL-13, leads to remodeling the tissue.
