Dr. Gumperz' research focuses on understanding the molecular recognition strategies and immunological functions of human innate lymphocytes such as NKT cells, with the ultimate goal of developing immunotherapeutic approaches utilizing these aspects of innate immunity. A major current direction of her lab involves using "humanized" mice (i.e. mice engrafted with human immune cells) to model the functions and interactions of human immune cells that lead to physiological outcomes in cancer, inflammation, and infectious diseases.