The respiratory mucosa serves as a significant entry point for pathogens. Induction of adaptive immunity to these pathogens is thought to initiate with respiratory dendritic cells (rDC) that form strategically positioned networks within the lungs that allow these cells to sample the environment. My laboratory is focused upon determining the role that these respiratory dendritic cells (rDC) play in initiating and regulating T cell responses. Our current projects utilize influenza virus, RSV, and group A Streptococcus to study: 1) the critical role that local interactions of DC with effector T cells within the lungs have in boosting and shaping pulmonary T cell responses and allowing pathogen clearance and recovery from infection; 2) the factors that control rDC programming in the lungs and how the type and degree of the pulmonary infection/exposure is translated into different effector programming of T cells within the lymph nodes; 3) how nanoparticles can be used to target rDC and boost protective antibody and resident T cell responses during vaccinations against pulmonary viruses like influenza and SARS-CoV2; 4) how chronic alcohol consumption alters pulmonary DC and T cell immunity therein increasing the incidence and severity of pulmonary infections in alcoholics; and 5) how sepsis alters dendritic cells.