Professor Colby Zaph
Monash University
Date: Thursday 10 September 2015
Time: 1:00pm - 1:45pm
Venue: Cairns B1.031 videolinked to Townsville B40.103
One of the hallmarks of the immune system is the ability of lymphoid cells to modulate their functional capacity in response to external stimuli. Naive CD4 T helper (TH) cells can differentiate into one of several lineages including TH1 and TH2 cells that differ in their function. Importantly, dysregulated TH cell responses have been associated with a wide variety of inflammatory diseases including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), asthma and allergies.
While the molecular mechanisms controlling the lineage choice of lymphoid cells are better understood, recent studies have highlighted the critical role of epigenetic mechanisms in cellular differentiation and function. For example, we have recently shown a role for the histone lysine methyltransferase G9a in
regulation of TH cell differentiation and function during intestinal helminth infection and inflammation.
Our studies point to G9a as a central regulator of lymphoid cell function and have broad implications for our understanding of the epigenetic mechanisms associated with regulation of TH cell and ILC differentiation in health and disease.
Colby Zaph is Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Mucosal Immunity and Inflammation in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Monash University. Colby received his BSc Honours degree in Biochemistry from the University of Saskatchewan in 1995 and his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA, USA in 2004. His research is currently focused on the cellular and molecular mechanisms that control immunity and inflammation at mucosal sites.