University of Pennsylvania · BiologySkin Microbiome and Immunity Unit
Taku Kambayashi · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Research Focus
Dr. Taku Kambayashi's lab at the University of Pennsylvania studies how the skin microbiome interacts with immune cells to regulate the secretion of sebum, an oily substance that helps maintain skin barrier functions. The lab investigates the immune-sebum axis, focusing on communication between immune cells and skin microorganisms. They aim to understand how these interactions influence skin health and protect against infections.
skin microbiomesebum secretionimmune systemT cellsskin barrier functioninflammationsebaceous glandscytokineshomeostasis
Research Aims
3AIM 01Investigate how the skin microbiota and MyD88 regulate sebum secretion.
AIM 02Probe how IL-4/13, derived from TSLP-stimulated T cells, affects sebaceous gland function.
AIM 03Test whether the skin microbiota and TSLP affect skin barrier function and protect against pathogenic skin infection in a sebum-dependent manner.
Skills the Lab Values
cell culturemouse modelsimmunohistochemistryflow cytometryPCRRNA sequencingWestern blotmicroscopybioinformatics
Output against the department
Publications162top 41% of dept.423rd of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations8.9ktop 43% of dept.446th of 1,033
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.