Graham joined the team in Vancouver in 2014, as a graduate student. He moved with us to Glasgow in 2016 and slowly became Glaswegian as well as Canadian. He graduated at the end of 2019, and in 2020 began an exciting postdoctoral position in the excellent Immunoparasitology group at LUMC, Leiden.
Research Summary: A Th2 immune response is associated with helminth infection and several autoimmune diseases, such as asthma and ulcerative colitis. The central coordinator behind this response is the cytokine IL-4, which Georgia’s group has previously shown to be able to predefine the function of inactive, bystander T cells within proximity of the source. I am interested in elucidating the molecular mechanisms behind the ability of IL-4 signaling to create this functional bias before these T cells are activated. Understanding the regulatory mechanisms for this phenomenon may allow the development of new therapeutic strategies for helminth infection and autoimmune diseases.
About Me: Before joining the Perona lab in September 2014, I did my undergraduate degree in the joint Biotechnology program between BCIT and UBC. Through the program I landed lab positions at a pharmaceutical company called Cardiome, the Vancouver Prostate Centre and Dr. Murphy’s lab in the UBC Microbiology department. I realized research in academia was where I wanted to be, found my calling in immunology through my courses at UBC and hence joined Georgia’s team as a graduate student! Being born and raised in Vancouver, I feel at home with both the ocean and mountains. Skiing in the winter. Hiking and beaches in the summer. It’s a hard place to leave behind. Though, the Scottish hills were enticing enough to pack up and move! Other activities of choice include kayaking, biking, soccer, and ultimate frisbee (It’s a real sport!). Generally I’m happy doing anything in the great outdoors, preferably followed by a visit to the pub for a beer or two.
