Gabriel Victora: Clonal and cellular dynamics of the antibody response 

This lecture is part of the Systems Biology Lectures Cell Communication: From Cells to Tissues.

Registration for this lecture series is not required. If you share your contact details, you will receive reminders and updates about individual lectures.

Gabriel Victora (The Rockefeller University, New York)
Clonal and cellular dynamics of the antibody response 

The event is taking place onsite and online via Zoom

Credits for attendance: (0.1 credit/lecture)

• MDC students (sign the attendance list in the room OR via Zoom)
• External students (sign the attendance list in the room; online participation possible without credits)

To sign up for 1-on-1 meeting and career lunch (intended for students and postdocs) with the speaker, give your time preferences by Friday (Aug 16) by following theLINK.

Lecture abstract

Clonal and cellular dynamics of the antibody response

Laboratory of Lymphocyte Dynamics, The Rockefeller University

The average affinity of specific antibodies increases dramatically over the course of an immune response. This increase is the result of a Darwinian process in which B lymphocytes undergo iterative cycles of random hypermutation of their immunoglobulin genes, followed by selective proliferation of clones bearing affinity-enhancing mutations. This evolutionary process takes place in highly dynamic microanatomical structures known as germinal centers, which arise within secondary lymphoid organs upon infection or immunization. Our work combines intravital multiphoton microscopy with mouse genetics to study how the dynamics of B and T lymphocytes within germinal centers shapes the evolution of the high-affinity antibodies that are crucial to protection from infectious disease.

Read more about his research here.