Immuno-Oncology Program

The Chrysothemis Brown Lab

Research

Chrysothemis Brown, MD, PhD

Assistant Attending Physician; Assistant Member

Assistant Professor

At the Brown Lab, we’re studying how signals from the tissue environment shape the fate and function of immune cells and the mechanisms by which the immune system reciprocally regulates tissue homeostasis and host immunity. At the heart of an immune response are dendritic cells, sentinels of the immune system that are uniquely poised to regulate the balance between inflammatory immune responses and immune tolerance. We have identified novel dendritic cells and our work aims to decode the environmental cues that shape dendritic cell heterogeneity and elucidate their distinct functions in immunity, tissue homeostasis, and human disease. In the study of dendritic cells and their cross talk with immune, stromal cells and the microbiome, the scope of our research extends across three distinct yet complementary areas:

i) early life immune development

ii) mechanisms by which antigen-presenting cells control tolerance to self, dietary and microbiota-derived antigens

iii) dendritic cells in tissue and tumor immunity

Research Projects

Featured News

Immunologist Chrysothemis Brown Named a 2025 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Freeman Hrabowski Scholar

Dr. Brown, whose research has been shedding light on the development of the early life immune system and its relationship to autoimmunity, allergy, inflammation and cancer, was among 30 early career scientists nationwide selected for the 2025 class of scholars.

MSK Researchers Identify Key Player in Childhood Food Allergies: Thetis Cells

Thetis cells, a class of immune cells first described by MSK researchers in 2022, play an essential and previously unknown role in suppressing inflammatory responses to food, a new study finds.

Women in Cancer: Meet Three Trailblazers at MSK

Hear from three women breaking new ground in the fields of cancer metastasis, immunology and philanthropy.

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Publications Highlights

CabricV^†, ParisottoY^†, Park T, Akagbosu B, Zhao Z, Lo Y, Fisher L, Shibu G, Paucar Iza Y, Leslie C, Brown C. A wave of Thetis cells imparts tolerance to food early in life. Science. 2025 389,268-274 doi:10.1126/science.adp0535

Akagbosu B†, Tayyebi Z†, Shibu G, Paucar Iza Y, Deep D, Parisotto Y, Fisher L, Pasolli HA, Thevin V, Elmentaite R, Knott M, Hemmers S, Jahn L, Friedrich C, Verter J, Wang Z-M, van den Brink M, Gasteiger G, Grünewald TGP, Marie JC, Leslie C, Rudensky AY*, Brown C*. Novel antigen-presenting cell imparts Treg dependent tolerance to the gut microbiota. Nature. 2022 doi:10.1038/s41586-022-05309-5 *co-corresponding †equal contribution

Brown C,*^† Gudjohnson H,*Pritykin Y, Deep D, Mendoza A, Leslie C, Pe’er D, Rudensky, A. Transcriptional basis of dendritic cell heterogeneity in mouse and humans. Cell. 2019 179:846-863 doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.09.035

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People

Chrysothemis Brown, MD, PhD

Assistant Attending Physician; Assistant Member

Assistant Professor

The Brown Lab studies how the tissue environment shapes immune cell fate and function during early life immune development, inflammation, and cancer.
MA, University of Oxford
MD, Royal Free and University College London
PhD, King’s College London