 |
 |
 |
 |
Professor of Immunology Home Department: Molecular & Cell Biology |
|
RESEARCH INTERESTS: My lab is interested in how signal transduction pathways regulate cell fate decisions. We are studying this question using T cell development in the mouse. Several features of the murine thymus make it uniquely suited for developmental studies. Because thymic development in the mouse proceeds throughout adult life, the adult thymus contains cells representing all developmental stages, and these populations can be readily analyzed using monoclonal antibodies and flow cytometry. Thymic development proceeds normally in organ culture, facilitating imaging studies and in vitro manipulations. Finally, the ability to make precise genetic alterations in mice, by introducing transgenes or by gene disruption, permits a genetic approach. During thymic development, T cell precursors migrate to the thymus where they proliferate, rearrange their antigen receptor genes, and eventually give rise to the mature T cell subsets. During this process, the thymocytes are subject to a selection process that results in the death of ~99% of the cells and that shapes the mature T cell repertoire. Thus the immunological processes of thymic selection and repertoire generation are superimposed on the process of cellular maturation.
CONTACT INFORMATION: Office: 475 LSA Website: http://mcb.berkeley.edu/labs/robey/ |
|
Back to Faculty Page