Advancing Multidisciplinary Research
The Mark Lebwohl Center for Neuroinflammation and Sensation opened in January 2022 and is advancing multidisciplinary research, bringing together skin biology, immunology, and neuroscience. The state-of-the-art research center provides world-class clinical care for patients with chronic itch and other sensory disorders. The ultimate goal is to bring therapeutic innovations through fundamental new science and groundbreaking clinical trials to address significant unmet sensory and neuroinflammatory disorders.
Brian S Kim, MD, MTR, FAAD
Dr. Kim is the Director of the Mark Lebwohl Center for Neuroinflammation and Sensation; Professor, Dermatology and Immunology & Immunotherapy; Lead of the Allen Discovery Center for Neuroimmune Interactions at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; and Vice Chair of Research in the Kimberly and Eric J. Waldman Department of Dermatology. The Kim Lab focuses on mechanisms that underlie skin inflammation and the sensation of itch as a fundamental, broad, model paradigm of neuroimmunology. Key discoveries include the first identification of group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) in the skin of both mice and humans, novel contributions of basophils, ILC2s, and natural killer (NK) cells to skin inflammation, and unveiling how immune cells and type 2 cytokines/JAK signaling directly influence sensory neuronal responses.
Hongzhen Hu, PhD, MS
Dr. Hu is Professor of Neuroscience and Dermatology and Scientific Director of The Mark Lebwohl Center for Neuroinflammation and Sensation. He joined the Departments of Dermatology and Neuroscience, as well as the Friedman Brain Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS), in 2023. His research laboratory studies the underlying mechanisms that encode distinct sensory modalities in both the skin and visceral organs under both physiological and pathological conditions. Additionally, his team aims to understand how various exteroceptive and interoceptive sensory signals are processed within the central nervous system.
Michel Enamorado, PhD
Dr. Enamorado is an Assistant Professor of Dermatology with an affiliation to the Friedman Brain Institute, the Precision Immunology Institute, and the Mark Lebwohl Center for Neuroinflammation and Sensation at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Within the Enamorado Lab, a focal point of investigation lies on understanding the neuroimmune regulation of injury and repair. Dr. Enamorado’s research aims to unravel the 1) Peripheral Neuroimmune Regulation of Injury and Repair at Barrier Tissues. 2) Brain Sensing of Injury and Repair. 3) Impact of Injury and Repair on Mental Health. By advancing our understanding of the neuroimmune mechanisms at play, we will contribute to the development of personalized, targeted therapies that can make a meaningful difference in patients live.
