Faces and Functions of Regulatory T Cells

Event Details

Type

Friday Lecture Series

Speaker(s)

Alexander Rudensky, Ph.D., tri-institutional professor, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, The Rockefeller University, and Cornell University; chairman, immunology program, Sloan-Kettering Institute; director, Ludwig Center for Cancer Immunotherapy, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Speaker bio(s)

Regulatory T (Treg) cells represent a specialized lineage of cells of the adaptive immune system, whose biological role is in preserving and supporting diverse tissue functions in numerous biological and clinical settings. Treg cells afford negative regulation in-trans of inflammation and, thereby, contain the consequent tissue damage, foremost caused by effectors of adaptive and innate immunity. T cell and interleukin-2 receptor signaling are required for induction of a dedicated Treg lineage specification factor Foxp3 and, therefore, for Treg cell differentiation in and outside the thymus. These signals also promote generation and function of potently suppressive “effector” Treg cells in the secondary lymphoid organs and non-lymphoid tissues, which partake in a variety of biological processes ranging from tissue repair and maintenance to suppression of immune responses to “self” and infectious agents, to control of organismal metabolic parameters, and cancer progression.

Alexander Rudensky is an internationally-recognized leader in the field of immune regulation, where he has made numerous seminal discoveries including the identification of the molecular mechanisms of regulatory T cell differentiation. Rudensky’s work provided important insights into the fundamental role for regulatory T cells in immunological tolerance and in a variety of processes and pathologies including autoimmunity, allergy, transplantation, immunity to infections, pregnancy, tissue repair, and cancer. Rudensky was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, and is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has been named a Thomson-Reuters Citation Laureate and was awarded the Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science, the Crafoord Prize by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and the Coley Award for Basic Immunology by the Cancer Research Institute.

Open to

Public

Host

Alexander Tarakhovsky

Reception

Refreshments, 3:15 p.m. - 3:45 p.m., Abby Lounge

Contact

Justin Sloboda

Phone

(212) 327-7785

Sponsor

Justin Sloboda
(212) 327-7785
jsloboda@rockefeller.edu

Readings

http://librarynews.rockefeller.edu/?p=5793