Jost van Meerwijk, PhD

Research Interests:

Our long-term research interest is to characterize genetic, cellular, and molecular mechanisms that regulate the development and function of regulatory T lymphocytes (“Treg”). We aim to provide important insight into the regulation of T cell-mediated immunity relevant to chronic inflammation, autoimmune pathologies, cancer, and transplantation. We presently address the following research topics:

• The consequences of recirculation of peripheral Treg back to the thymus
• The roles of cytokines in the development of Treg
• Genetic control of the phenotype of Treg newly developing in the thymus
• Potential aberrations of Treg development in mice and patients affected with autoimmune pathologies

The experimental strategies to address our research interests include flow-cytometry, next generation sequencing, in vivo disease models, and mutant mice.