May 28th at 16.00-17.00

Säätiö Auditorium, Medisiina D

Lucy Walker, University College London, UK: The CTLA-4 pathway and regulation of type 1 diabetes

Host: Riitta Lahesmaa ( rilahes @ utu.fi )

Coffee and pulla served at 15.30

Lucy Walker is Professor of Immune Regulation at the Institute for Immunity and Transplantation at University College London. She has a longstanding interest in immune regulation with a particular focus on how CTLA-4 and CD28 operate to control T cell immunity. Her group aims to understand the pathways that regulate the development of autoimmune diseases, like type 1 diabetes (T1D), with the goal of developing new immunotherapies. She is particularly interested in the homeostasis and function of regulatory T cells, and how these cells use CTLA-4 to restrict conventional T cell activation and limit damaging immune responses. The overarching aim of her group’s research is to use mechanistic insights to develop new immunotherapeutic strategies. Professor Walker has received multiple prizes including a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award (2015) an EFIS Lecture Award (2016), and the BSI Immunology Research Excellence Award (2023).

Selected publications:

Wang CJ, Petersone L, et al, and Walker L.S.K. Costimulation blockade in combination with IL-2 permits regulatory T cell sparing immunomodulation that inhibits autoimmunity. Nature Communications (2022) 13(1):6757

Edner N.M., Heuts F., Thomas N., Wang C.J., Petersone L., Kenefeck R., Kogimtzis, A., Ovcinnikovs, V., Ross, E.M., Ntavli E., Eichmann M., Baptista R., Ambery P., Jermutus L., Peakman M., Rosenthal, M., and Walker L.S. Follicular helper T cell profiles predict response to costimulation blockade in type 1 diabetes. Nature Immunology (2020) 21:1244-1255

Ovcinnikovs V, Ross EM, Petersone L, Edner NM, Heuts F, Ntavli E, Kogimtzis A, Kennedy A, Wang CJ, Bennett CL, Sansom DM, Walker L.S. CTLA-4-mediated transendocytosis of costimulatory molecules primarily targets migratory dendritic cells.  Science Immunology (2019) May 31;4(35).

Herold KC, Delong T, Perdigoto AL, Biru N, Brusko TM, Walker L.S.K. The immunology of type 1 diabetes. Nature Reviews Immunology (2024) 24 (6):435-451.