"I chose the Microbiology & Immunology program at Wake Forest for three reasons: the reputation of learning environment, the excellent scientific training and the interconnected atmosphere. The professors in our department are all very enthusiastic and supportive. They not only give the best lectures, but also put great effort in training young researchers. And the fellow students are all very helpful and friendly, which makes this department a very enjoyable place to stay in."

The role of the APC in the control of CTL avidity

 My project focuses on the avidity of cytotoxic T cells in Simian Virus 5(SV5) respiratory infection model. The term functional avidity means the sensitivity of a T cell to antigen peptide antigen. High avidity T cells are responsive to low peptide levels, whereas low avidity T cells require high amounts of peptide to be activated. In vivo, high avidity CTL are more effective at clearing virus infection and tumor cells than low avidity CTL. So, the activation of high avidity CTL response is favorable and is thus a goal for improved vaccine strategies. Previous research done by our lab has showed that high avidity CTL are exclusively activated and expanded at early time points post infection. At later times following infection, however, low avidity CTL begin to arise becoming half of the responding T cell population. Based on the previous data in our lab and my preliminary data, we hypothesize that the antigen presenting cells (APC) contributes to the control of avidity in the responding T cell population. Because of the importance of CTL response in virus clearance, our better understanding of the generation and control of CTL avidity will bring new insights into anti-viral immune response and vaccine design.