Robert A. Schulz, Notre Dame Professor of Biological Sciences receives a 2-year grant from the National Institute Health for a project entitled “Stress induction of a cellular immune response in Drosophila.”  

Exposure to stress is a known risk factor for many human diseases.  A research paradigm is being developed in this project wherein the Drosophila fruit fly model organism is used to investigate the cellular and genetic basis of immune cell induction due to stress administration.  These studies should provide beneficial insights into the mechanisms controlling animal stress challenge and the activation of the defensive innate immune system, likely translatable to a better understanding of stress alteration of the immune system in humans.