San Francisco, California, United States
Ph.D. Biology / Immunology, Humboldt University Berlin, Germany (summa cum laude) M.Sc. Biochemistry, Free University Berlin, Germany
I focused on the role of the Notch pathway in self-limitation of inflammatory T cell responses, and identified plasmacytoid dendritic cells as potent inducers of IL-10 production in vivo through their expression of the Notch ligand Dll4.
I investigated the role of the Notch pathway in activation and differentiation of peripheral T cells, and in the regulation of IL-10 production from Th1 cells in particular. I identified Notch as a critical modulator of the pro-inflammatory capacity of Th1 cells. I also studied the competition for IL-2 as an important mechanism by which regulatory T cells suppress T cell proliferation. In collaboration with Amaxa Biosystems and Qiagen, I worked to advance siRNA technology for targeted gene knockdown in primary T lymphocytes. I contributed to the development of protocols for siRNA transfection of primary murine T cells using chemical modifications to increase stability and efficiency of siRNA knockdown in primary T cells.
worked on methods for RNA interference in mammalian cells investigated role of PKR in anti-viral response upon introduction of long double-stranded RNA into cells
worked on classification of cutaneous B cell lymphomas based on the antigen-experience of malignant B cell clones used micromanipulation of individual cells from skin sections, single-cell-PCR, and sequencing to somatic mutations and intra-clonal diversity in monoclonal V-D-J rearrangements