The immune system consists of diverse cell types which collaborate to eliminate infections by a large number of pathogens. This elaborate collaboration involves macrophage, B lymphocytes and T lymphocytes. Macrophages provide a first line of defense by engulfing, digesting, and presenting peptides derived from pathogens to the lymphocytes. B and T cells which are capable of recognizing specific antigens become stimulated to divide and respond to the pathogen. The B cells respond by producing antibodies and the T cells respond by controlling the immune response and killing infected cells. The molecular mechanisms involved in the specificity of the response and in the control of the cellular collaboration are highly complex and interesting, and are the focus of multiple studies in our department.

Biochemical, genetic, structural, and cellular biological approaches are being used to study a wide range of problems in immunology. The topics under investigation include the nature of the cells which are destined to differentiate into B and T lymphocytes, the regulation of gene expression in macrophage and lymphocytes during the response to infection, the process of DNA rearrangement which generates diversity in the antibody and T cell receptor repertoire, the interactions of the immunoglobulin and T cell receptor molecules with their ligands, and the signal transduction events which are integral to the functions of lymphocytes and the regulation of the immune response.

Faculty with research programs in immunology: