Lucy S.K. Walker, PhD

Research Interests:

Our group seeks to understand how the immune system is normally regulated to prevent the development of autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. We are currently addressing the following research topics:

• The role of the CTLA4 checkpoint in the control of immune homeostasis
• How CD4 T cells differentiate during the development of autoimmune diseases
• The pathways controlling regulatory T cell (Treg) homeostasis and function

We use a combination of in vivo models and patient samples to address our research questions. Commonly used techniques in the lab include multi-parameter flow cytometry, confocal microscopy, lentiviral-mediated gene transduction, immune cell transcriptional analysis and in vitro T cell function assays.