As an independent investigator, Dr. Dougan has focused his efforts on understanding the etiology and immune mechanisms underlying the immune-related adverse events (irAEs) resulting from cancer immunotherapy, a window into the endogenous function of the immune receptors targeted by these therapies. His research dovetails with his clinical work, where he specializes in treating gastrointestinal (GI) irAEs resulting from “checkpoint” receptor blockade, which are often treatment limiting. Management relies on systemic corticosteroids, which are likely to have deleterious effects on antitumor responses. His goal is to use a detailed mechanistic understanding of gastrointestinal irAEs to develop novel treatment strategies that do not interfere with antitumor immunity, as well as to understand on a more fundamental level, how individual immune receptors regulate immune homeostasis in the GI tract.