The major direction of the research in my laboratory is the mechanisms of the innate immune response to cellular stress, including the response to DNA damage in the context of ionizing radiation.  Moderate and even low radiation doses may induce acute or chronic inflammation that disrupts organ functions and are an important factor of secondary radiation-related disorders, such as vascular abnormalities, neuronal damage, autoimmune diseases and radiation-related cancer. Molecular patterns associated with activation of viral genomes, such as viral RNAs and proteins are shown to be essential factors that exacerbate inflammatory response.  Current projects in the lab are focusing on studying the role of endogenous retroelements, particularly retroviruses (human endogenous retroviruses or HERVs, ~8.3% of the human genome), and pattern recognition receptors in the molecular mechanisms of the innate immune response, cellular differentiation, and inflammation upon radiation-induced cellular stress.