Grant: Doctoral: Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships

In recent years, researchers have identified a new cell type that acts as the first line of defense in our immune system. They are mainly found in the gut, skin and lung and are known to cause allergy. They do so by producing small signaling molecules that induce allergic inflammation. They have been considered to be short-lived cells that induce acute allergic reactions and gradually die afterwards, but we have recently discovered that these immune cells persist in the lung once they have encountered allergens and can induce more severe inflammation later on when individuals come across a different allergen. However, it is still not known whether they arise from a specific precursor subset or from activated cells that have survival advantage, and whether they become systemically distributed when inflammation is resolved. Therefore, the objective of this project is to understand how these cells are generated and maintained, and how they are involved in allergic lung diseases such as asthma. Even with recent advances in allergy research, it is often difficult to identify a cause. As the allergy-causing immune cells are able to persist and react against unrelated agents, this research endeavors to answer the long-sought out question of why some people develop allergic reactions towards multiple agents throughout their lives. Moreover, it may also enable us to discover new drugs to treat lung allergic diseases such as asthma, which affects approximately 2.5 million Canadians.