My laboratory is interested in understanding the cellular and molecular regulation of immunoglobulin production in response to pathogens. The broad aim of our studies is to further the understanding of the regulatory circuits between two arms of the immune system. Specifically, we are investigating the mechanism by which signals transmitted by natural killer (NK) cells, an important component of the innate immune system, modulate the activation and further differentiation of B lymphocytes, a key player of the specific immune system.
We are also interested in understanding the regulation of alterations in the nature of the B lymphocyte antigen receptor during development and differentiation. Ongoing projects in the lab are directly towards dissecting the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulatory events that result in progression from solely membrane IgM expression in early B cells to IgM plus IgD double expression in mature B cells and finally to secretory IgM synthesis in activated B cells. These processes are important in determining exactly how various subpopulations of B lymphocytes are equipped to respond to pathogens at various stages in the life time of the animal.
