The focus of Dr. Snyder's research is on the role of the adaptive immune system in the development of chronic rejection after lung transplantation. Chronic rejection is a progressive airway disease which remains a major limiting factor to long term survival following lung transplantation. Imbalances in the suppression of the adaptive immune system, leading to acute rejection or infection, have been implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic rejection.

Recently, Dr. Snyder identified that lung donor memory T cells, the predominant cell in the adaptive immune system, survive following transplantation and persist for weeks to months in the recipient. Furthermore, this survival of donor T cells is associated with improved short-term outcomes. Additionally, his group showed that lung allograft-infiltrating, recipient-derived T cells which migrate to the lungs following transplantation take up residency within the lung. His lab is focusing on determining the function and specificity of these tissue-resident memory T cells and if they are contributing to chronic rejection.

In addition to lung transplantation, the Snyder lab is actively investigating the role of tissue resident memory T cells on pulmonary fibrosis and chronic airway inflammation.