Mechanisms of immune suppression in sepsis/shock: one investigator's/lab group's experience (SLB 2024 legacy award presentation)

When I think about scientific/professional "legacy," for me there are at least 3 areas to consider: 1) the actual scientific legacy you (and your lab members) have contributed to, 2) the people you have touched and how they touch you in this scientific journey, and 3) what professional impact you left on the scientific/academic community. So, with that in mind, I will try to share my (our lab groups') story relative to our contributions to the delineation of various mechanisms that appear to contribute to the development of immune suppression and/or organ injury resultant from shock and/or septic insult by weaving in and out of the science over the past ∼35 yr, while digressing from the pure science at certain places in hope of giving you some personal/professional context that effected this individual's (lab groups') scientific journey. Inasmuch, please appreciate that the science discussed will be more of a summary of the contributions we think we may have made (appreciating as possible the contributions of colleagues in the field that spoke to such findings) relative to the understanding of the mechanisms of immune suppression in shock/sepsis and will not be a deep dive into the specific data sets.