Discovery and Development

As a Staff Scientist in the laboratory of Dr. Marcus Clark in the section of Rheumatology in the Department of Medicine at the University of Chicago, I explore the molecular mechanisms determining the transition of cells undergoing recombination of genomic DNA and those entering cell cycle during normal and pathogenic lymphocyte development. Following the successful design and completion of a custom bioinformatic screen and a high-throughput biological relevance assay of candidate genes, my work now focuses on novel epigenetic regulators of the DNA damage response and cell cycle pathways. Findings from these studies will be critical to advance our fundamental understanding of the causes of immunodeficiency, autoimmunity and oncogenic transformation.

I am a postdoctoral research fellow in the lab of Dr. Marcus Clark in the section of Rheumatology in the department of Medicine at the University of Chicago. My work centers around examining, and possibly developing predictive mathematical models, of the molecular signaling pathways responsible for termination of Pre-B cell proliferation and subsequent initiation of immunoglobulin light chain gene rearrangement during B cell development in the bone marrow.

Utilizing B-cell depletion antibodies or mice genetically engineered to lack certain cytokines or costimulatory molecules specifically on B-cells I examine how autoreactive B-cells develop and activate self-reactive T-cells for the initiation and perpetuation of chronic inflammatory diseases.