Autoimmune Life Blog

You’ve probably heard of Down syndrome. You may even remember that it’s caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21. But fewer people know that almost half of those with Down syndrome have an autoimmune disease. Or that they are at lower risk of solid tumor cancers like breast cancer.

Among the many mysteries of autoimmune diseases, we know one thing for sure: These diseases are connected. They often occur when immune cells called T cells mistakenly attack healthy tissue — say the pancreas in type 1 diabetes (T1D) or the gut in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

BRI’s vision is to create a healthy immune system for everyone. But before we can do that, we need to answer a key question: What exactly does a healthy immune system look like?

The transition from elementary school to middle school is a big step for any kid. Multiple teachers instead of one, new letter grades, no recess. It’s a different world, especially when most of fifth grade took place at home because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

When Grace Pilo is in a ballet performance, she uses a continuous glucose monitor and insulin pump to make sure her blood sugar stays in a healthy range throughout the show.

It was the dead of the night in Brisbane, Australia. Maree Doolan, then a nurse, was in the middle of a long shift. “We were messing around and decided to take our blood sugars,” she says. “I was shocked that mine was quite high, in the 280 range.

The discovery of insulin 100 years ago transformed type 1 diabetes (T1D) from a death sentence to a chronic illness. Yet T1D is still a relentless disease with no cure.

After six miles and several hours of hiking in the heat of the day, Andrea Williams reached her destination: A view of Mount Rainier so close and clear that she couldn’t even fit the whole mountain in a photo. Then she checked her blood sugar.

Words like “immunocompromised” are broad by design: They’re meant to encompass how a wide variety of conditions impact the immune system.

Before BRI Lab Aide Noah Biru had degrees in engineering and biochemistry — and was headed to Yale to pursue a PhD in immunology — he was a little kid who wanted to help his mom.