Michael Croft Email & Phone Number

Prof. Croft started his career working on cytokines made during T-B cell interactions and factors controlling Th1/Th2 differentiation. He then initiated work on costimulatory molecules that regulate T cell activation that continues to this day. Prof. Croft has specialized in the study of the TNF/TNFR superfamily of cytokines and membrane receptors and their control of T cells, and more recently extended this work to the control of other immune and non-immune cell types such as epithelial cells and fibroblasts. He has worked on multiple interactions within this superfamily over the past 25+ years, focusing on those of OX40 with OX40L, CD30 with CD30L, 4-1BB with 4-1BBL, CD27 and CD70, and LIGHT with HVEM/LTBR. More recently, this has been expanded to new work on the interactions of TL1A with DR3 and TWEAK with Fn14. The research has included basic work on signaling and responsiveness in both CD4 and CD8 T cells and how some of these molecules control virus-reactive and tumor-reactive T cells. Prof. Croft has studied the roles of these molecules in multiple inflammatory responses, in particular in lung inflammation relevant for asthma, IPF, and systemic sclerosis, and skin inflammation relevant for atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, and scleroderma, as well as in autoimmunity related to pathogenesis of type I diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and others. He has published many reviews on the TNF/TNFR family, including in Nature Reviews Immunology, Annual Reviews of Immunology, and Nature Reviews Drug Discovery. Prof. Croft possesses a number of patents directed at immune disease therapy modulating the TNFR/TNF family and his discoveries have resulted in clinical trials targeting several of these molecules in inflammatory disease, including asthma, IBD, and atopic dermatitis. One neutralizing antibody to OX40 (KHK4083/rocatinlimab) that Prof. Croft proposed to develop is currently in phase III trials for the atopic dermatitis. In addition, his work directly and indirectly has generated interest in the clinical targeting of many TNFR proteins in cancer and infectious disease. Prof. Croft has published more than 200 manuscripts. His studies have increased the understanding of the importance of costimulation and checkpoint proteins to immunity, and helped lead to a broad interest in molecules in the TNF superfamily as targets for clinical therapy of immune-based diseases. Prof. Croft’s extensive consulting work with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have further aided the translation of fundamental research into the clinic.