We’re finding ways to help bodies make peace with themselves.

The immune system is fine-tuned to detect and disarm foreign threats to our health. But what if parts of our own body are recognized as foreign? This phenomenon gives rise to autoimmune diseases, in which the immune system targets and attacks certain tissues—from our nerve cells, in the case of multiple sclerosis, to our joints, as seen in rheumatoid arthritis.

Autoimmune diseases are widespread, affecting more than 24 million people in the U.S., and often life-threatening or seriously debilitating. Understanding and treating these conditions ranks among the greatest medical challenges today. But scientists at Scripps Research are unraveling the mysteries, steadily uncovering the genetic and environmental triggers of an abnormal immune system, then devising novel ways to prevent the damage and reverse the disease.

Our immunology researchers have joined forces with our leaders in drug discovery and clinical science. Together, the team is translating discoveries about the core machinery of immune cells into groundbreaking therapies. This essential work seeks to reduce the global burden of autoimmune diseases and restore the lives of patients and their loved ones.