Joanne Konkel

Biography

After receiving my BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Bristol, I moved to the University of Edinburgh to undertake a Wellcome Trust funded PhD. Performing these studies in the laboratory of Prof. Stephen Anderton, I became interested in understanding how T cells perceive and respond to their environment and differentiate accordingly. After completing my PhD in 2009 I moved to National Institutes of Health in the USA to undertake my post-doctoral work in the laboratory of Dr. Wanjun Chen in the National Institutes of Dental and Craniofacial Research. It was here that I developed my interest in mucosal immunology and the important mucosal cytokine TGFβ, exploring the development of both conventional T cells and, less well-studied, unconventional T cells residing at barrier sites. These studies led me to begin to start my own group examining the immune cell networks present at barrier sites, with a particular emphasis on the oral mucosa, and how the unique and conventional immune cells present at barrier sites perceive and are locally conditioned by the tissue microenvironment. Recently I was award a BBSRC David Phillips Fellowship to support my ongoing studies.

Biology, Medicine and Health (BMH) Domains

• Infection, Immunity, Inflammation and Repair