Benaroya Research Institute (BRI) is excited to share that BRI faculty member Bernard Khor, MD, PhD, was recently appointed to the Board of Directors at the Down Syndrome Center of Puget Sound (DSC). DSC offers more than 20 programs and services to individuals with Down syndrome and their families to empower, educate and support them through every stage of life. DSC also engages in public engagement and community advocacy to build inclusive world for people with Down syndrome. 

Since joining BRI in 2017, much of Dr. Khor’s research as the principal investigator of the Khor Lab has been dedicated to understanding how the immune system is disrupted in people with Down syndrome. Dr. Khor is investigating key questions, such as why immune aging occurs earlier in people with Down syndrome and how these changes influence the development of autoimmune disease, as well as responses to infections and vaccines.

In 2018, Dr. Khor received a one-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to build a Down syndrome biorepository to help further his research into the connection between autoimmune disease and Down syndrome. Using blood and tissue samples from the biorepository — which now contains samples from over 250 donors — Dr. Khor and his lab have made important discoveries, like that the immune systems of people with Down syndrome look between five and 20 years older than that individual’s actual age.

BRI’s vision is a healthy immune system for all, we are proud of Dr. Khor’s commitment to the communities we serve both in and out of the lab.