How allergens trigger itching: finding points to new targets for allergy drug development
Researchers make key discovery related to the allergic immune response.
About Caroline Sokol, MD, PhD
Dr. Sokol received her B.A. and M.S. degrees in 2001 from the University of Pennsylvania. This was followed by her M.D./Ph.D. in 2009 from Yale University where she studied how the immune system recognized and responded to allergens under the mentorship of Dr. Ruslan Medzhitov. Her research in the field ignited her interest in clinical Allergy & Immunology and Dr. Sokol came to Massachusetts General Hospital to perform her clinical training in Internal Medicine and Allergy & Immunology.
In 2013 Dr. Sokol became a board-certified Allergist & Immunologist and attending physician in Massachusetts General Hospital’s Allergy and Clinical Immunology Unit. She has continued to focus on research, studying the role of the innate immune system in recognizing and responding to allergens as a post-doctoral fellow with Dr. Andrew Luster and now in her own independent laboratory. As a physician-scientist, she seeks to understand how and why the immune system responds to allergens with the overall goal of developing new therapies to treat and prevent allergic disease.
Clinical Interests:
- Asthma
- Contact dermatitis (allergic)
- Eczema (atopic dermatitis)
- Food allergy and immune mediated disorders of the intestines
- Rhinosinusitis
- Urticaria
Treats:
- Adult
Locations
Mass General Medicine: Allergy & Clinical Immunology Unit
55 Fruit St.
Yawkey 4B
Boston, MA 02114
Phone: 617-726-3850
Medical Education
- M.D.; Ph.D., Yale University School of Medicine
- Residency, Massachusetts General Hospital
- Fellowship, Massachusetts General Hospital
American Board Certifications
- Allergy and Immunology, American Board of Allergy and Immunology
Accepted Insurance Plans
- Aetna
- Beech Street
- Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare
- Cigna
- Commonwealth Care Alliance
- Coventry
- Fallon Health
- Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
- Humana
- Maine Community Health Options
- Mass General Brigham Health Plan
- MassHealth
- Medicaid ME
- Medicaid NH
- Medicaid RI
- Medicaid VT
- Medicare
- Medicare ACO
- Multiplan
- Senior Whole Health
- TriCare
- Tufts Health Plan
- United Health Care
- Wellpoint
- WellSense
- WellSense NH
Note: This provider may accept more insurance plans than shown; please call the practice to find out if your plan is accepted.
Research
Using the tools of cellular immunology, my laboratory seeks to elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms behind the innate immune control of allergic disease. We study the ways that allergens are sensed by the body via both immune cells and sensory neurons, and how this sensing leads to activation of allergic immune responses. Furthermore,with the goal of identifying novel therapeutics to treat allergic inflammatory disorders, we are interested in identifying novel accessory cells and signals involved in the initiation of allergic immunity.