The lymphatic system is an organ system made up of a large network of lymphatic vessels, lymphatic and lymphoid organs, and lymphoid tissues. In healthy individuals, the lymphatic system is essential in regulation of the immune response, tissue edema, trafficking of immune cells, and adsorption and clearance of dietary fat in the intestine.  Except for avascular structures, they are present in every tissue and organ, and as such, their proper functioning is key to health and disease. 

The Lemole Center for Integrated Lymphatics and Vascular Research was established at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University (LKSOM) by a generous gift from Dr. Gerald M. Lemole, a 1962 graduate of LKSOM and renowned cardiac surgeon. Dr. Lemole has a forward-thinking, holistic view of treatment of disease. He strongly believes that an interdisciplinary research approach, with a particular focus on the lymphatic system, should be a major research effort in modern medicine. That approach spawned the name of the center as the Lemole Center for Integrated Lymphatics and Vascular Research. His vision for his gift is to establish a center where investigators from disparate research backgrounds could come together and exchange ideas, with a focus on the lymphatic system.

The LCILR supports multidisciplinary research to study a variety of diseases, focusing on the lymphatic system. Currently core principal investigators of the LCILR are invested in vascular, cardiac, and neural and brain research projects, but investigators thoroughout Temple University and Temple University Hospital are encouraged to participate in the LCILR mission with research in any number of diseases, with the common bond being shared interest in lymphatic system participation in health and disease.

Education is also an objective of the LCILR to train students, clinicians, and scientists who are interested in the study of the lymphatic system in health and disease. To this end the LCILR sponsors a seminar series and journal club, both which focus on the role of the lymphatic system in disease. LCILR investigators strive for collaboration, and invite faculty to participate in the seminar series and journal club.