The central nervous system (CNS) was thought to be ‘immune privileged’ and not interact with the immune system. Recent evidence however suggests that many chronic neurodegenerative diseases, as well as many acute injuries in the CNS, are characterized by the presence and actions of inflammatory cells. An initial response to neuronal injury is evidenced by the rapid response of CNS microglia, which are antigen-presenting, immune-competent, myeloid cells that reside in the CNS and are able to modulate neuronal survival, or affect neuronal structural changes occurring in response to neuronal activity. Our research interests concern the communication, signaling events and cell-cell interactions between cells in the CNS parenchyma and microglia in the physiological and pathological CNS. We currently use in the lab models of glioblastoma (GBM), stroke, and chronic stress to probe these interactions. 

Stella Tsirka was born and raised in Greece. She received her BS and PhD degrees from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. After pursuing postdoctoral studies at Univ California San Francisco and SUNY Stony Brook, under the mentoring of Drs Phil Coffino and Sid Strickland, respectively, she became a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at SBU in 1998, and then joined the Pharmacology faculty in 2000 as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Tsirka's research has focused on the study of (neuro)inflammatory processes in models of neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases. Specifically, the lab explores the function and activation of microglia, the immunocompetent cells of the CNS, in response to both physiological and pathological stimuli, using different models of disease including ones for multiple sclerosis, stroke, glioma, epilepsy as well as major depression disorder to investigate neuro-immune interactions and pathways common to them. Her investigations seek to identify targets for intervention and therapeutic treatment of these diseases. Dr. Tsirka has been the director of graduate training programs supported by NIH and NSF (IGERT), including the T32-funded Pharmacology Graduate Program and the T32-funded Scholars in BioMedical Sciences (Molecular Medicine) Program. She served as Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs (2014-2019). She serves currently as the Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs (since 2020), and is the Miriam and David Donoho Endowed Professor and Head of the Academy of Clinical and Educational Scholars (ACES), which is designed to advance faculty efforts to transform medical education in RSOM. She is currently the Secretary of the ASPET Task Force on Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility. She has received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in University Service, the Mentor of Excellence Award from the SBU Center for Inclusive Education, and was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).