The breast, or mammary gland, is a unique organ: it’s the only one that develops predominantly after birth – during puberty – in an organism with a fully-developed immune system. Early development trains the immune system to distinguish between “self” and “non-self” in an effort to prepare for all sorts of infectious attacks throughout life.

As I sit at my lab bench, bent over an ice bucket cluttered with FACS tubes, trying to make some small discoveries of my own (and get a PhD before I’m 30?), I’m motivated by all the awesome discoveries that are helping humanity live longer and healthier lives. I’ve said before that today’s transformative technologies are driving the future toward us at a ferocious pace; I believe this is equally true of our understanding of the biology of human health and disease.