Abstract

This Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar will take place on Thursday 12 March 2026, starting at 4:00pm, in the Ground Floor Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre (JCBC)

Speaker: Professor Salim Khakoo, Professor of Hepatology, Southampton University

Title: NK cell receptors: on with the old and in with the new

Abstract: Natural killer (NK) cells play a fundamental role in the immune response to viruses and cancer. As part of the innate immune system, on an evolutionary scale, they are considered to be relatively ancient. However, in addition to highly conserved receptors they also express a class of receptors (the killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors) that are rapidly evolving. These receptors have MHC class I ligands and are associated with many different diseases process. They recognize peptides derived from both viruses and cancer. Interactions with viruses may have driven the selection of KIR , but recognition of cancer also provides a potential therapeutic opportunity.

Host: Professor Francesco Colucci, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge

Refreshments will be available following the seminar.