Donna Farber

Donna Farber is the George H. Humphreys, II Professor of Surgical Sciences at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, with dual appointments in the Department of Surgery and the Department of Microbiology & Immunology. She serves as Chief of the Division of Surgical Sciences and leads the Farber Lab at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Her research program integrates fundamental mouse model studies with innovative translational approaches using human samples to investigate tissue-specific immune responses throughout the human lifespan.

Dr. Farber's research focuses on immunological memory and tissue-resident memory T cells (TRM) as essential mediators of protective immunity. Her laboratory has identified novel subsets of non-circulating TRM in lung tissue that mediate optimal protective immunity against influenza infection. Current research employs total transcriptome profiling and bioinformatics to investigate mechanisms for how memory T cells become targeted to and maintained in tissues, with particular emphasis on integrins and inflammatory mediators. Her work bridges mouse models with human studies through a unique collaboration with LiveOnNY (the organ procurement organization for the New York Metropolitan area) and transplant surgeons at New York Presbyterian.

Her laboratory's publications reveal a strong focus on tissue compartmentalization of lymphocytes across the lifespan, with particular attention to infant immunity, lung immunology, and responses to viral infections including influenza and SARS-CoV-2. Recent work demonstrates how tissue-resident immune cells develop differently across body sites, how they change with age, and how they respond to pathogens and vaccines.

• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Distinguished Fellow of the American Association of Immunologists

Dr. Farber leads an NIH-funded Program on "Tissue compartmentalization of human lymphocytes" involving immunologists, molecular biologists and computational biologists from five institutions. Her laboratory maintains a unique research protocol with organ donors through LiveOnNY, allowing direct study of human immune responses in multiple lymphoid and mucosal tissues. The Farber Lab also conducts ongoing studies on infant immunity in collaboration with clinicians in the Pediatric Critical Care Division at Morgan Stanley/NYP, investigating how protective responses can be established in babies most susceptible to infection. The laboratory trains the next generation of immunologists while conducting cutting-edge research that has been highlighted in major publications including Nature, Science Immunology, and The New York Times.