Prof. Asya Rolls
Rolls Lab, a neuroimmunology research lab dedicated to understanding the physiological basis of the mind-body connection. We aim to uncover how mental states influence the body’s ability to fight disease and, hence, focus on brain-immune interactions. We study how the brain and the peripheral nervous system respond to changes in the immune state and, in turn, how they regulate immune processes, cells, niches, and organs. Our research covers the interactions between the nervous system and different peripheral organs, including the heart, liver, gut, and fascia, as each axis has unique features and evolutionary constraints. Our long-term goal is to harness the brain’s therapeutic potential for treating autoimmune diseases, psychosomatic disorders, and cancer.
System & Physiological Neuroscience
- Original Manuscripts. Reward system activation improves recovery from acute myocardial infarction. Haykin H., Avishai E., Krot. M, Ghiringhelli M., Reshef M., Abboud Y., Melamed S., Merom S., Boshnak N., Azulay-Debby H., Ziv T., Gepstein L. & Rolls A. Nature Cardiovascular Research (2024). doi: 10.1038/s44161-024-00491-3
- Insular cortex neurons encode and retrieve specific immune responses. Koren T., Yifa R., Amer M., Krot M., Boshnak N., Ben-Shaanan T.L., Azulay-Debby H., Zalayat I., Avishai E., Hajjo H., Schiller M., Haykin H., Korin B., Farfara D., Hakim F., Kobiler O., Rosenblum K., Rolls A. Cell (2021). doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.11.021.
- Optogenetic activation of local colonic sympathetic innervations attenuates colitis by limiting immune cell extravasation. Schiller M., Azulay-Debby H., Boshnak N., Elyahu Y., Korin B., Ben-Shaanan T.L., Koren T., Krot M., Hakim F., Rolls A. Immunity (2021). doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2021.04.007.
- Neuronal regulation of immunity: why, how and where? Schiller M., Ben-Shaanan T.L., Rolls. A. Nature review immunology (2021). doi: 10.1038/s41577-020-0387-1Koren T., Yifa R., Amer M., Krot M., Boshnak N., Ben-Shaanan T.L., Azulay-Debby H., Zalayat I., Avishai E., Hajjo H., Schiller M., Haykin H., Korin B., Farfara D., Hakim F., Kobiler O., Rosenblum K., Rolls A. Cell (2021). doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.11.021.
- Reward system activation improves recovery from acute myocardial infarction. Haykin H., Avishai E., Krot. M, Ghiringhelli M., Reshef M., Abboud Y., Melamed S., Merom S., Boshnak N., Azulay-Debby H., Ziv T., Gepstein L. & Rolls A.Nature Cardiovascular Research (2024). doi: 10.1038/s44161-024-00491-3.
