Diane Mathis

Our lab works in the fields of T cell differentiation and autoimmunity, with a special emphasis on exploiting the most advanced transgenic and gene-targeting technology to engineer new mouse models. Studies on T cell differentiation focus on 1) selection of the T cell repertoire, in particular the mechanisms of positive and negative selection and lineage commitment; and 2) cellular and molecular influences on memory T cell survival in the periphery. Studies on autoimmunity explore the immunological mechanisms of diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and APECED, a polyglandular autoimmune disease. Major questions tackled are what initiates these diseases, how is their progression regulated, and what are the final effector mechanisms. In addition, modern genetic and genomic approaches are used to identify disease-modifying genes in both human patients and mouse models, and the application of computational and bioinformatic strategies to these and other issues is beginning to be explored.