Research
Supervisor: Dr Michelle Linterman
Upon infection or vaccination germinal centre (GC) responses generate long-lived antibody secreting plasma cells and memory B cells. During this response follicular helper T cells provide differentiation and survival signals to cognate B cells and mediate positive selection of B cell clones. The GC response is also controlled by another subset of recently discovered follicular regulatory T (Tfr) cells, which act as suppressors in the germinal centre and control its output. My PhD project focuses on unravelling the mechanisms involved in the Tfr mediated GC suppression. In addition, the GC response gradually declines with age and this is mainly a consequence of age dependent changes in T cell differentiation and function. Therefore, we are also interested in how age affects the function and formation of both Tfr and Tfh cells.
