Lab Research Focus
The production of antibodies by B cells is required for health, but abnormal antibody production can lead to autoimmune diseases such as lupus. The focus of my lab is understanding how surface receptors control B cells. Our basic research focuses on a complex of surface receptors that controls how B cells respond when they encounter antigen. We are working to understand the 3D structure and to determine how this structure controls interactions with signal transduction proteins in the cell. We then test the role of these structures in antibody responses in transgenic mice, thus linking structure to biology. Additional work studies abnormalities in B cell receptors in patients with lupus, with the goal of identifying new targets for therapy of this autoimmune disease.
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