Research in the Jasmer laboratory focuses on the ways in which immune cells within the inflamed salivary gland communicate with their cellular neighbors. We are interested in understanding the spatial organization and composition of these cellular neighborhoods and how cellular conversations impact disease progression. We focus on cell-cell communication and subsequent downstream signaling processes resulting from receptor binding of lysophospholipids and extracellular nucleotides. Currently, we study these processes in the context of chronic autoimmune Sjögrens Disease (SjD) as well as salivary gland dysfunction that occurs due to head and neck irradiation. Treatments for both diseases primarily focus on symptom management as no FDA-approved curative therapeutics presently exist. Thus, these lines of inquiry aim to identify and validate novel therapeutic targets and translate our findings to the clinic. We utilize a variety of molecular, biochemical, cellular, and bioinformatic approaches to explore these fundamental questions about cellular communication and then translate our findings to in vivo preclinical models.