ABOUT US

The adaptive immune system provides a robust defense against infection with pathogenic microorganisms while controlling against autoimmune disorders. Yet, many individual components of this system are based on stochastic (i.e., random) processes. B cell immunoglobulin and T cell receptors, which provide a critical recognition system for pathogens and self-antigens, are constructed by stochastic recombination of multiple possible genes. At the cell population level, single cells often have varied transcriptional, signaling and cytokine secretion responses to the same stimulus. How these random and diverse actions at the molecular level translate into robust action at the system level remains in question and will be the focus of our meeting. Understanding the changes in immune cell populations and how they reflect immune function is a key missing component in our ability to design vaccines and effective personalized medicine. We, therefore hope from this meeting to both elevate our understanding of the complexity underlying immune adaptation and to advance the borders of clinical practice.