T Cell Dysfunction in Aging and Disease
My research focuses on T cell immunity in two contexts of dysfunction: (1) Inborn errors of immunity, focusing on CARMIL2 deficiency, where we identified defective metabolic reprogramming and partially restored T cell activation through metabolic supplementation. (2) Age-related immune dysfunction. We used a Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cell model in mice to investigate how aging affects immunotherapy. We found that aging reduces CAR T cell production, shifts their phenotype toward effector memory CD4+ T cells, and induces non-specific cytotoxicity driven by heightened granzyme B secretion. A similar phenotype in young T cells transferred into aged hosts suggests these dysfunctions are driven by the aged microenvironment.
