Immune-microbial interactions of a healthy diet and in aging

From early in life we are exposed to trillions of microbes and food proteins through our intestines, and only occassionally are the microbes pathogenic. Somehow, the immune system stores the information that certain microbes are 'safe', and we even find synergy with them, for example as they break down fibre into metabolites we can use. Similarly, through partially known processes, the immune system actively ignores food proteins allowing us to use them for nutrition. We are interested in understanding how this synergy with microbes and use of dietary antigens are tolerated from the immune perspective. Antibodies, which usually protect us against pathogens are important for maintaining commensal homeostasis, but the IgA plasma cells that mediate this are extremely long-lived. How, then does our immune system adapt to new 'safe' microbial challenges, what happens to cause dysbiosis, and what are the signals that resolve 'safe' from 'dangerous' microbes in the short- and long-term? These questions are the focus of this PhD program, which involves cutting-edge molecular and cellular immunology approaches, and would benefit from experience with coding and bioinformatics analysis. Students can expect to be trained in mouse handling, immunization approaches, intestinal and lung physiology, flow cytometry, RNAseq, scRNAseq and Western blotting. Strong presentation and writing skills, statistical power calculations and analysis will also be developed in the candidate. Basic use of a pipette is a must, and an eagerness to understand rules underlying immune activity in health and disease are essential for success in this work.