Featured Research

Our bodies carry a large repertoire of T and B cell clones, which specifically identify and eliminate pathogens and tumors that pose threat to our well being. The numbers of T and B lymphocytes in these repertoires are dynamically regulated by the processes of death, division and differentiation across our lifespan. As a result, the breadth (extent of clonal diversity) and the size of lymphocyte populations continuously evolve as we age. Our aim is to quantify the processes that govern the ecological distributions of lymphocytes and in doing so, identify the mechanisms that establish and maintain our immune repertoires.

Currently, we are focussed on understanding the ontogeny and homeostasis of naive (antigen-inexperienced) T cells. We employ mechanistic mathematical models to analyze multiple datasets that were generated from diverse experimental setups in mice and humans, in an effort to develop a grand unifying theory of naive T cell homeostasis . Learn more

T cell populations are multilevel, organized ecosystems, comprising of diverse cell types that engage in competitive and co-operative interactions to elicit a stunningly rich and dynamic response against infections and tumors. The dynamics of diverse T cell subsets within non lymphoid tissues are unclear and therefore the intensity and longevity of the tumor-specific T cell response in several cancers remain largely unknown. Our goal is to combine experimental data with mathematical modeling to track the subset composition of intratumoral T cells in order to pinpoint the mechanisms that govern tumor tolernace or rejection.