We study how the immune system defends and repairs skin.
The Alphonse Lab investigates innate and adaptive immune responses in skin infection and inflammatory disease — inflammasome biology, caspase signaling, and immune metabolism in S. aureus infection, atopic dermatitis, and psoriasis. Our goal is to identify biomarkers and host-directed therapies for antibiotic-resistant disease.
Department
Dermatology
Institution
Johns Hopkins Medicine
Location
Baltimore, Maryland
Research programs
01
Antibiotic resistance
Host-directed alternatives to antibiotics for MRSA and other bacterial skin infections.
02
Immunometabolism
How immune cell metabolism shapes function, inflammation, and bacterial clearance.
03
Inflammatory skin disease
Mechanisms in atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, and prurigo nodularis.
04
Tissue regeneration
Repair and regeneration of skin following infection and injury.
Recent from the lab
JID Innovations · 2025
Nanda N, Kim C, Jain I, Cai C, Alphonse MP
Biomolecules · 2024
From host defense to metabolic signatures: unveiling the role of γδ T cells in bacterial infections
Nanda N, Alphonse MP
Drug Development Research · 2023
An oral caspase inhibitor as monotherapy or with antibiotics eradicates MRSA skin infections in mice
Cahill E, Oladipo OO, Dikeman D, Prifti D, Mento SJ, Miller LS, Alphonse MP
The team
Martin P. Alphonse
Principal Investigator
Dustin Dikeman
Lab Manager
Darshan Sivaloganathan
Medical Student
Namya Nanda
Medical Student
We’re recruiting.
Come do skin immunology with us.
Postdoctoral fellows, medical students seeking a year out, research technologists, and undergraduates who can commit beyond a year.
Alphonse Lab 