# David Hafler
**David A. Hafler** is an American neurologist and immunologist whose research established the role of regulatory [T cell](https://www.edgepedia.org/t-cell) dysfunction in multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases. He is the William S. and Lois Stiles Edgerly Professor of Neurology and Professor of Immunobiology at [Yale School of Medicine](https://www.edgepedia.org/yale-school-of-medicine), and was chairman of the Yale Department of Neurology and neurologist-in-chief of [Yale New Haven Hospital](https://www.edgepedia.org/yale-new-haven-hospital).[1](https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/david-hafler/) Over roughly four decades of NIH-funded work, his laboratory generated the first clear human autoreactive T cell clones, identified human FoxP3 regulatory T cells, and the first evidence of their dysfunction in autoimmune disease, and co-led the discovery of genetic variants that cause susceptibility to multiple sclerosis.[1](https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/david-hafler/) • [2](https://medicine.yale.edu/lab/hafler/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Position | William S. and Lois Stiles Edgerly Professor of Neurology and Professor of Immunobiology, Yale School of Medicine[1](https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/david-hafler/) |
| Field | Neuroimmunology: T cell regulation in autoimmunity, multiple sclerosis genetics[1](https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/david-hafler/) |
| Training | Emory University B.S./M.Sc. (1974), University of Miami M.D. (1978), immunology training with Henry Kunkel at Rockefeller University[1](https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/david-hafler/) |
| Signature work | "Sodium chloride drives autoimmune disease by the induction of pathogenic TH17 cells" (Nature, 2013)[3](https://www.nature.com/articles/nm.3411) • [4](https://www.nature.com/articles/nature11868) |
| Career path | Harvard faculty 1984; Breakstone Professor 1999; founding Associate Member, Broad Institute; Yale 2009; inaugural Edgerly Professor 2015[1](https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/david-hafler/) • [5](https://news.yale.edu/2015/02/18/dr-david-hafler-appointed-inaugural-edgerly-professor-neurology) |
| Major honors | Jacob Javits Merit Award (NIH); John J. Dystel Prize (AAN, 2010); Raymond D. Adams Lectureship (ANA, 2015); AAI Steinman Award (2023); elected to the National Academy of Medicine, ASCI, and the Association of American Physicians[1](https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/david-hafler/) • [6](https://www.yalemedicine.org/specialists/david-hafler) |
| Current funding | NIH R01CA266757 (2022–2026), a phase 0/I trial of anti-TIGIT plus anti-PD1 antibodies in glioblastoma[7](https://connects.catalyst.harvard.edu/Profiles/display/Person/82929) |
## Training and early career
Hafler graduated magna cum laude from [Emory University](https://www.edgepedia.org/emory-university) in 1974 with combined B.S. and M.Sc. degrees in biochemistry and took his M.D. at the University of Miami School of Medicine in 1978.[1](https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/david-hafler/) He completed an internal medicine internship at [Johns Hopkins](https://www.edgepedia.org/johns-hopkins), then a neurology residency at Cornell Medical Center–New York Hospital, serving as chief resident at The New York Hospital–Cornell Medical Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Institute in 1982.[1](https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/david-hafler/) He trained in immunology with Henry Kunkel at [Rockefeller University](https://www.edgepedia.org/rockefeller-university), joined the Harvard Medical School faculty in 1984, and held an NIH K08 career development award from August 1985 to July 1990.[1](https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/david-hafler/) • [7](https://connects.catalyst.harvard.edu/Profiles/display/Person/82929)
## Career
Hafler became the David Breakstone Professor of Neurology and [Neuroscience](https://www.edgepedia.org/neuroscience) at Harvard Medical School in 1999 and was a founding Associate Member of the [Broad Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/broad-institute) at MIT.[1](https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/david-hafler/) According to Yale News, he joined the Yale faculty in 2009 as the inaugural Gilbert H. Glaser Professor of Neurology and chaired the Department of Neurology; in February 2015 he was appointed the inaugural William S. and Lois Stiles Edgerly Professor of Neurology.[5](https://news.yale.edu/2015/02/18/dr-david-hafler-appointed-inaugural-edgerly-professor-neurology) His own profile now describes him as former Chairman of the department and former neurologist-in-chief of Yale New Haven Hospital, while his laboratory site continues to list him in both roles.[1](https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/david-hafler/) • [2](https://medicine.yale.edu/lab/hafler/)
## T cell regulation in autoimmunity
The Hafler Laboratory studies the fundamental immunology and pathogenesis of human autoimmune disease.[2](https://medicine.yale.edu/lab/hafler/) Its central finding is that regulatory T cells (Tregs), the CD4+ cells that suppress immune responses, do not work properly in multiple sclerosis. A related study found a higher frequency of TH1-like, interferon-γ-secreting Foxp3+ T cells in untreated patients; these cells show reduced suppressive activity in vitro, partially reversible by IFN-γ antibodies or removal of IL-12.[8](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3675886/)
## Genetics and environmental factors
Hafler founded the International MS Genetic Consortium, and his work has connected genetic risk variants to altered immune responses.[1](https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/david-hafler/) On the environmental side, a 2013 Nature paper showed that increased salt concentrations markedly boost the induction of murine and human TH17 cells, activating the p38/MAPK pathway through NFAT5 and [SGK1](https://www.edgepedia.org/sgk1); mice fed a high-salt diet develop more severe experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, with more antigen-specific TH17 cells infiltrating the central nervous system.[4](https://www.nature.com/articles/nature11868) Follow-up work showed that sodium chloride also renders Tregs dysfunctional, driving them toward a TH1-like phenotype with elevated SGK1 and IFN-γ, and that interfering with the SGK1–IFN-γ axis restores their suppressive function.[9](https://perspectivesinmedicine.cshlp.org/content/8/12/a029041.full) [Dietary salt](https://www.edgepedia.org/salt) has been discussed as an environmental contributor to multiple sclerosis.[9](https://perspectivesinmedicine.cshlp.org/content/8/12/a029041.full)
## Translational and recent research
In 2012 Hafler co-authored a New England Journal of Medicine clinical review on fingolimod; when Hafler was in medical school in the 1970s there were no MS treatments at all.[10](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22276823/) • [6](https://www.yalemedicine.org/specialists/david-hafler)
Recent work has turned the regulatory defect into a molecular mechanism. An August 2024 study led by Hafler found that loss of immune regulation in autoimmune disease is triggered by increased PRDM1-S, a protein involved in immune function, in a dynamic interaction with genetic and environmental factors including high salt intake.[11](https://news.yale.edu/2024/08/28/study-reveals-molecular-mechanism-behind-ms-and-other-autoimmune-diseases) In March 2025, a Journal of Clinical Investigation study used single-cell RNA sequencing to map how anti-CD20 [B cell](https://www.edgepedia.org/b-cell) depletion reprograms the immune landscape in multiple sclerosis, finding increased CSF-specific anti-inflammatory macrophages and TIGIT+ Tregs, markedly fewer myelin-reactive CD4+ T cells, and raised TNF-α in monocytes, consistent with earlier evidence that anti-TNF treatment worsened MS.[12](https://www.jci.org/articles/view/182790/) The lab has also profiled the T cell state of the healthy human central nervous system by single-cell and single-nucleus sequencing, identifying a mechanism for CNS immune privilege.[2](https://medicine.yale.edu/lab/hafler/) Through an NIH R01 grant running to December 31, 2026, Hafler is directing a proof-of-concept phase 0/I trial of the anti-TIGIT antibody AB154 combined with the anti-PD1 antibody AB122 in glioblastoma, applying insights about T cell dysfunction to brain cancer.[7](https://connects.catalyst.harvard.edu/Profiles/display/Person/82929)
## Representative work
- **"Sodium chloride drives autoimmune disease by the induction of pathogenic TH17 cells"**, *Nature* (2013), [doi:10.1038/nature11868](https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11868).
- **"T-cell recognition of an immuno-dominant myelin basic protein epitope in multiple sclerosis"**, *Nature* (1990), [doi:10.1038/346183a0](https://doi.org/10.1038/346183a0).
## Honors and leadership
Hafler received a Jacob Javits Merit Award from the NIH, the John J. Dystel Prize for Multiple Sclerosis Research from the [American Academy of Neurology](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-academy-of-neurology) in 2010, the Raymond D. Adams Lectureship from the American Neurological Association in 2015, the University of Miami Distinguished Alumni Award, and the 2023 AAI Steinman Award for Human Immunology Research; he is elected to the [National Academy of Medicine](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-academy-of-medicine), the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the Association of American Physicians.[1](https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/david-hafler/) • [6](https://www.yalemedicine.org/specialists/david-hafler) He founded the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS), was its past president, and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Clinical Investigation and the Journal of Experimental Medicine.[1](https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/david-hafler/) • [5](https://news.yale.edu/2015/02/18/dr-david-hafler-appointed-inaugural-edgerly-professor-neurology)
## References
1. [David A. Hafler, MD, FANA, MSc | Yale School of Medicine](https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/david-hafler/)
2. [Hafler Lab | Neuroimmunology Lab, Yale School of Medicine](https://medicine.yale.edu/lab/hafler/)
3. [Regulatory T cell proliferative potential is impaired in human autoimmune disease | Nature Medicine](https://www.nature.com/articles/nm.3411)
4. [Sodium chloride drives autoimmune disease by the induction of pathogenic TH17 cells | Nature](https://www.nature.com/articles/nature11868)
5. [Dr. David Hafler appointed the inaugural Edgerly Professor of Neurology | Yale News](https://news.yale.edu/2015/02/18/dr-david-hafler-appointed-inaugural-edgerly-professor-neurology)
6. [David A. Hafler, MD, MSc | Yale Medicine](https://www.yalemedicine.org/specialists/david-hafler)
7. [Harvard Catalyst Profiles: David A. Hafler, M.D.](https://connects.catalyst.harvard.edu/Profiles/display/Person/82929)
8. [Identification of T helper type 1–like, Foxp3+ regulatory T cells in human autoimmune disease | Nature Medicine](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3675886/)
9. [Regulatory T Cells: From Discovery to Autoimmunity | Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine](https://perspectivesinmedicine.cshlp.org/content/8/12/a029041.full)
10. [Fingolimod for Multiple Sclerosis | PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22276823/)
11. [Study reveals molecular mechanism behind MS and other autoimmune diseases | Yale News](https://news.yale.edu/2024/08/28/study-reveals-molecular-mechanism-behind-ms-and-other-autoimmune-diseases)
12. [Transcriptomic profiling after B cell depletion reveals central and peripheral immune cell changes in multiple sclerosis | Journal of Clinical Investigation](https://www.jci.org/articles/view/182790/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Life and health scientists › Medical and health researchers › Researchers in clinical neuroscience, neurology, and psychiatry research › Multiple sclerosis and neuroimmunology*
*Initially written Sep 20, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 25, 2026 · Last review: Sep 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license