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SUMMARY:Collective T cell behaviour in health and disease - Dr Audrey Gera
 rd\; Kennedy Institute\, University of Oxford 
DTSTART:20230223T130000Z
DTEND:20230223T140000Z
UID:TALK193714@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Bobbie Claxton
DESCRIPTION:Abstract: Despite a remarkable degree of plasticity\, stochast
 icity and functional heterogeneity in their individual response\, T cell o
 verall response to infection is consistent and robust. This implies a coor
 dinated response across a system-wide level to facilitate the control of p
 athogens while maintaining self-tolerance. Much research has focused on in
 dividual T cell activation and differentiation\, but how the stochastic in
 dividual responses are integrated is unknown. This global coordination can
  only be achieved by constant cellular communication between responding ce
 lls and has to be supported by the ecosystem they reside in. In this prese
 ntation\, I will focus on the impact of CD8 T cell communication through t
 he cytokine IFNg. I will present data supporting the existence of IFNg dri
 ven T cell communication during infection\, and its relevance for T cell r
 esponse. I will then move on to situation where IFNg production is chronic
 \, namely during immune response to tumours\, and present data demonstrati
 ng that chronic IFNg signalling in T cells restricts their anti-tumour res
 ponse by inhibiting stem-like T cell maintenance.\n\nBio: I am an Associat
 e Professor and Senior Research Fellow of the Kennedy Trust of Rheumatolog
 y Research (KTRR) at the University of Oxford.\nMy previous research focus
 ed on the characterization of relevant cellular and molecular events regul
 ating the initiation of immune responses. I completed my Ph.D. under the s
 upervision of Jacques Nunes and Daniel Olive at the University of the Medi
 terranean\, Marseille\, France\, focusing on the negative regulation of pr
 imary and leukemic T cell activation. I undertook postdoctoral training at
  the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam with John Collard\, where I
  studied polarity proteins and T cell migration. I then moved on to the la
 boratory of Matthew Krummel at UCSF\, San Francisco\, USA\, where I contin
 ued to work on the molecular mechanism of T cell migration in vivo using 2
 -photon microscopy. In addition\, I developed a broader interest in the sp
 atio-temporal behaviour of T cells during infection and vaccination. In pa
 rticular\, I described a specific period during which T cells directly com
 municate to control each other's fate. I joined the Kennedy Institute in J
 une 2016\, where I am still exploring the dynamic of T cell immune respons
 es.\n
LOCATION:Kings Hedges Room 
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