EU-LIFE Postdoc Exchange Seminar: Germinal Centre Dynamics in Vaccination and Allergy

On September 10, from 10-11 AM (GMT), Stephane Guillaume will present the first Postdoc Exchange Seminar. 
Stephane is a postdoctoral researcher at the Babraham Institute, visiting the Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine to present his work, supported by the EU-LIFE Postdoc Exchange Programme.  

The title of his seminar is "Germinal Centre Dynamics in Vaccination and Allergy". 

Abstract

The germinal centre response to pathogens is important for improving B cell responses and increasing antibody affinity against invaders. Classic germinal centres form in secondary lymphoid tissues, but can also spontaneously form in peripheral tissues in response to inflammation and infection, known as ectopic germinal centres. In the lung, the functionality of ectopic germinal centres, and their ability to support B cell affinity maturation independently of lymph nodes, was previously unknown. This presentation highlights how we investigated B cells in lung ectopic germinal centres responding to allergic stimulation to show that lung germinal centres can locally support somatic hypermutation and seed memory B cells in situ. Additionally, I’ll discuss the use of a novel mouse model to interrogate the possible role of CD69 on T-follicular helper cells in germinal centres following vaccination.

For EU-LIFE members only, if you'd like to attend please reach out to contact@eu-life.eu.