Research Interests
I study how individuals adaptively regulate immune development and immune responses, especially in response to environmental stressors. My work aims to understand how steroids – at the level of single cells, tissues, and organisms, and species – operate as master controllers of developmental trajectories and complex immune phenotypes. I am also pursuing strategies to target these signals with the goal of preventing and treating diseases.
Additional Campus Affiliations
Assistant Professor, Animal Sciences
External Links
Highlighted Publications
Taves, M. D., Otsuka, S., Taylor, M. A., Donahue, K. M., Meyer, T. J., Cam, M. C., & Ashwell, J. D. (2023). Tumors produce glucocorticoids by metabolite recycling, not synthesis, and activate Tregs to promote growth. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 133(18), Article e164599. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI164599
Taves, M. D., Donahue, K. M., Bian, J., Cam, M. C., & Ashwell, J. D. (2023). Aire drives steroid hormone biosynthesis by medullary thymic epithelial cells. Science immunology, 8(86), Article eabo7975. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciimmunol.abo7975
Taves, M. D., & Ashwell, J. D. (2021). Glucocorticoids in T cell development, differentiation and function. Nature Reviews Immunology, 21(4), 233-243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41577-020-00464-0
Taves, M. D., Mittelstadt, P. R., Presman, D. M., Hager, G. L., & Ashwell, J. D. (2019). Single-Cell Resolution and Quantitation of Targeted Glucocorticoid Delivery in the Thymus. Cell Reports, 26(13), 3629-3642.e4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2019.02.108
Recent Publications
Taves, M. D., Donahue, K. M., Bian, J., Cam, M. C., & Ashwell, J. D. (2023). Aire drives steroid hormone biosynthesis by medullary thymic epithelial cells. Science immunology, 8(86), Article eabo7975. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciimmunol.abo7975
Taves, M. D., Otsuka, S., & Ashwell, J. D. (2023). Biosynthesis of glucocorticoids in tumors. Reply. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 133(21), Article e175274. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI175274
Taves, M. D., Otsuka, S., Taylor, M. A., Donahue, K. M., Meyer, T. J., Cam, M. C., & Ashwell, J. D. (2023). Tumors produce glucocorticoids by metabolite recycling, not synthesis, and activate Tregs to promote growth. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 133(18), Article e164599. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI164599
Russell, B., Hrelja, K. M., Adams, W. K., Zeeb, F. D., Taves, M. D., Kaur, S., Soma, K. K., & Winstanley, C. A. (2022). Differential effects of lipopolysaccharide on cognition, corticosterone and cytokines in socially-housed vs isolated male rats. Behavioural Brain Research, 433, Article 114000. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2022.114000
Taves, M. D., & Ashwell, J. D. (2022). Effects of sex steroids on thymic epithelium and thymocyte development. Frontiers in immunology, 13, Article 975858. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.975858