It's been a few weeks since 2018 started, and you may have thought you were done celebrating. If you've had your fill of holiday food and frivolity, maybe you're looking for something else to tickle your fancy.

If so, perhaps some of the new happenings from Mayo Clinic research and research education may be just the thing. Help us celebrate the new year by checking out a few new and updated research sites:

• Department of Immunology

The Department of Immunology at Mayo Clinic studies the body's immune response to develop treatments for immunological diseases and create immune-based prevention therapies. It is the oldest free-standing immunology department in the country, and has amassed a substantial list of accomplishments in its more than 40 year history.

This department includes several laboratories on Mayo Clinic's campuses in Rochester, Minnesota, and Arizona; and leads several graduate, post-graduate and undergraduate education opportunities.

Related resource:

• • Mayo Clinic Connect - Autoimmune Diseases: an online community where you can share your experiences and find support from people like you.

• Atherosclerosis and Lipid Genomics Laboratory

Led by Iftikhar J. Kullo, M.D., this lab is working on understanding what heredity has to do with atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (more commonly known as 'hardening of the arteries'), and finding ways to prevent or treat it.

He and his team also conduct research on a related set of conditions: lipid disorders, which cause abnormally high levels of cholesterol.

Related resources:

• • Arteriosclerosis / atherosclerosis
  • Lipid Disorders Service Group

• Advanced Imaging Technology Laboratory

Using advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques, Richard L. Ehman, M.D., and his research team are seeking to expand our ability to noninvasively evaluate tissues, organs and body systems. Their work has lead to the first proven clinical application of magnetic resonance elastography (MRE): the ability to diagnosis liver fibrosis. Among other research, they are also using this technology to assess brain tumors and neurodegenerative diseases.

While we weren't necessarily trying to entertain you, we hope you found this interesting, and visit again another day. Advancing the Science is one of Mayo Clinic's doorways to all sorts of information for people interested in better health and improvements in health care. You can subscribe to get regular updates about Mayo Clinic's medical research. You may also want to check out Discovery's Edge.

Happy New Year!

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Tags: About, basic science, genomics, Iftikhar Kullo, imaging, immunology, Richard Ehman