Q&A on immunometabolism research with Senior Editor Lucas Smith

We speak to Lucas Smith, a Senior Editor at PLOS Biology, about the new Collection “The many facets of immunometabolism”, his background in physiology research and his vision for immunometabolism at the journal.

What is your role at PLOS Biology?

I am a Senior Editor at PLOS Biology, where I cover a broad range of topics, including metabolism, reproduction, neurodegeneration, and circadian rhythms. A common thread in the papers I handle is that they shed light on an aspect of organismal physiology, e.g., How is tissue homeostasis established and maintained? How is it disrupted in disease?

How did you become interested in immunometabolism research?

I developed an interest in immunometabolism during my PhD at UCSF. During that time, I examined how age-related changes in blood and the immune system drive cognitive decline in mice. A question that always interested me was, “What is upstream of age-related inflammation?” — if we can find and correct the drivers of immunosenescence, then we might be able to reverse age-related functional decline across the organism. One compelling candidate driver of immunosenescence is metabolic dysfunction, so I was always interested to read literature in the immunometabolism field.

Tell us a bit about immunometabolism research at PLOS Biology. What types of research are you excited about?

My interest in immunometabolism has grown since leaving the lab and joining PLOS Biology, where I am regularly exposed to the breadth of exciting research encompassed within this field. During my time working as an editor, it has become increasingly clear that the immune system has a role in practically every aspect of organismal health, and that its dysfunction is often a major contributor to disease. The field of immunometabolism not only promises to provide fresh insights into the mechanisms of immune dysfunction, but also offers tools that could be used to restore homeostasis, or at least dial immune responses up or down. I am most excited to see how basic research that elucidates the mechanisms by which metabolism affects immunity will lead to deeper insights into how the immune system shapes physiology.

Tell us a bit about the new Collection. What made you choose “The many facets of immunometabolism” as a theme? What are your hopes for the future of the field?

The new Collection contains forward-looking review and comment articles that cut across several aspects of immunometabolism, including new research tools, metabolic disease, infection, and therapeutic avenues. We landed on “The many facets of immunometabolism” as the theme for this Collection because there are just too many exciting areas of research in this field, so we had a hard time narrowing down the focus! While our theme is broad, I think it does coalesce to highlight how the field is developing new tools to better understand the complexities of immunometabolism at a greater depth and resolution than ever before, revealing the nuances of how metabolism shapes the immune system, how this in turn shapes physiology, and how immunometabolism might be targeted to treat disease. As a Senior Editor at PLOS Biology, I have been excited to see developments along these lines, and I am looking forward to seeing how this field continues to unlock fundamental insights into the immune system in health and disease. 

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