WEHI Wednesday Seminar hosted by Professor James Murphy
 

Associate Professor Joanna Groom
Division Head – Immunology division, WEHI

Understanding the Orchestrators of Immune Flexibility

 

Davis Auditorium

Join via SLIDO enter code #WEHIWednesday

Including Q&A session
 

Flexible immune responses underlie our ability to protect against diverse classes of pathogens such as viral, helminth, bacterial and fungal infections. In all these settings, T  follicular  helper  (Tfh)  cells direct B cell responses and tailor antibody production. Almost all licensed vaccines rely on Tfh-driven antibody production and circulating Tfh (cTfh) cell numbers are robust biomarkers of vaccine-induced immunity. Dysregulation of Tfh cell function has profound consequences, contributing to both ineffective vaccine responses and the development of autoimmune diseases. This seminar will detail our efforts to profile the spectrum of functional Tfh cell states, integrating data between diverse pathogen infections in mice and human tissue to establish a blueprint of Tfh cell heterogeneity. We propose a new model in which distinct cytokine signals instruct transcriptional modules which underpin the basis for flexible adaptive immunity.

Associate Professor Joanna Groom is an NHMRC Leadership Investigator Fellow and co-division head of the Immunology division of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI). The vision of the Groom lab is to understand lymphoid positioning and cellular interactions as key leverage points that direct the outcomes of immune responses. Our aim is to continuously apply these fundamental insights to drive the generation of new therapies for the prevention and treatment of immunological and infectious disease and cancer. In achieving these goals, the Groom lab will continue to build rich collaborative networks and mentor the next generation of curious, creative immunologists to take on new challenges to improve human health.

All welcome!