Manish Butte

Dr. Manish Butte is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UCLA, holding joint appointments in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, and Human Genetics. He serves as the E. Richard Stiehm Endowed Chair and Chief of the Division of Immunology, Allergy, and Rheumatology. His clinical expertise includes treating rare immune disorders in children and adults through the UCLA Immunology and Immunodeficiency Clinic. Dr. Butte’s lab focuses on T cell biology, mechanobiology of immune responses, and developing diagnostic tools for genetic immunodeficiencies. His research integrates advanced microscopy techniques like atomic force microscopy and 2-photon imaging to study cellular mechanics and immune function.

Dr. Butte’s education includes a BS in Physics from Brown University, an MD from Brown University School of Medicine, and a PhD in Biophysics from UCSF. His clinical training involved pediatrics residency at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and allergy/immunology fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital. He transitioned to faculty at Stanford before joining UCLA in 2016.

Research interests span T cell mechanics in infection, autoimmunity, and cancer; biomaterials for immunotherapy; and genetic immune disorders. Key innovations include tools for studying T cell stiffness and force dynamics, and scaffolds enhancing tumor immunity. His lab also develops diagnostic microfluidics for primary immunodeficiencies.

Major grants include an NIH R01 studying T-cell dysfunction in Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis), and collaborations on multi-site projects for rare immune disease identification. Notable awards include the American Society of Clinical Investigation membership (2021) and Clinical Immunology Society Fellowship (2021).

Dr. Butte has mentored students and postdocs in immunology, with over 100 peer-reviewed publications. His lab actively collaborates on translational projects, such as the UCLA ATLAS biobank initiative linking EHR data to genomic research, and developing AI tools for identifying undiagnosed immune disorders.