- Associate Professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University
- Associate Professor, Department of Immunobiology; Yale School of Medicine, Yale University
Dr. Ellen Foxman is an Associate Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Immunobiology at Yale School of Medicine, where her laboratory studies antiviral defense in the human respiratory tract. Her research focuses on innate immunity — the inborn system of protective mechanisms that guards against harmful viruses and bacteria even without prior exposure — with the overarching goal of improving the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of respiratory viral illnesses.
Dr. Foxman trained in medicine and immunology at Stanford University and completed her residency in clinical pathology at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where she developed her interest in respiratory viruses. She subsequently joined Dr. Akiko Iwasaki’s laboratory at Yale as a postdoctoral associate, demonstrating that cool ambient temperature suppresses innate immune responses against common cold viruses. She established her independent research group at Yale in 2016.
The Foxman lab’s contributions span basic and translational research on host-pathogen interactions. A major focus is defining how recent exposures influence susceptibility to subsequent respiratory infections, including uncovering evidence for viral interference — whereby broad-acting antiviral defenses triggered by common cold viruses protect against unrelated viruses such as influenza and SARS-CoV-2. The lab has also defined mechanisms by which common cold viruses cause severe inflammation, and developed clinical biomarkers to track mucosal innate immune responses in human subjects, with applications in diagnostics and pandemic preparedness.
Her honors include the Rita Allen Foundation Scholars Award, the ASCI Young Physician Scientist Award, the Petska Award for Interferon Research, the Hartwell Foundation Individual Research Award, and the BARDA Antimicrobial Resistance Diagnostic Challenge Phase I Award.
