Grant: Doctoral Award - Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships

The immune system is responsible for detecting and eliminating infectious pathogens such as viruses and bacteria to keep us alive and healthy. On the other hand, the cells of our own body or harmless materials from the environment (e.g., pollens) should be tolerated by the immune system, failure of which leads to autoimmune diseases (e.g., lupus) or allergy (e.g., asthma). One of the crucial mediators of these immune reactions are proteins known as "antibodies". Antibodies are produced by specialized immune cells termed B cells. In order for the body to fight off an infection without harming itself, the B cells must produce antibodies that target pathogens but not its own cells or harmless materials. To ensure the quality of antibodies, the process of antibody production by B cells is guided by another type of immune cells termed "helper T cells". However, how helper T cells are generated and how they provide help to B cells are not fully understood. Our research team has shown that a protein called inducible costimulator (ICOS) facilitates generation of helper T cells during immune reactions. Using genetically modified mice as model systems, we will further investigate the detailed mechanisms by which ICOS instructs T cells to become helper T cells and help out B cells to produce high quality antibodies. Our research should advance our knowledge so that we can improve vaccine strategies and prevent autoimmune diseases and allergies.