Gregory Sonnenberg

Gregory Sonnenberg demonstrated that ILC3-derived IL-22 maintains intestinal epithelial stem cell homeostasis and prevents malignant transformation by promoting DNA damage repair and limiting proliferative stress in colonic crypt stem cells. His work revealed that dysbiosis-driven ILC3 dysfunction precedes colorectal cancer development and that restoring ILC3 function through microbiome interventions reduces tumor incidence in genetic cancer models. He has mapped the crosstalk between ILC3s, intestinal macrophages, and the microbiome that maintains immune homeostasis and prevents cancer-promoting chronic inflammation.