Faculty Candidate · 2026

The neurobiology of risk & resilience across the lifespan.

Using the immune system as a window into how adversity is written into the brain and body, I study why early-life stress raises the risk of mental illness later in life and what allows some of us to stay resilient as we age.

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Immune cells at the brain's vascular borders — Immune cells patrol the brain's vascular borders, relaying signals between body and brain. Created with BioRender.com.

EARLY LIFE

A window of vulnerability

Brain and immune systems co-assemble in early life. Adversity during this window is embedded in both, shaping long-term trajectories.

ADULTHOOD

Stress at the brain's borders

Chronic stress reshapes immune signaling at the meninges—the brain's protective border—altering mood and behavior.

LATER LIFE

Resilience & aging

Why are some people susceptible to early adversity and others aren’t? How does early-life reprogramming influence immune aging and later-life cognitive risk?

Fluorescence microscopy from the Kigar lab — Mouse meningeal whole mounts. Neutrophils are shown just outside blood vessels in the meninges, characterized by their lobular nuclei. Confocal microscopy.