Jonathan S. Duke-Cohan, Ph.D.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Research Program Affiliation

Member, Cancer Immunology

Research Abstract

The general goal of my research investigations is to understand at the molecular interaction level the receptor interactions, signaling pathways and functional consequences of T cells as they develop in the thymus, or respond in the periphery to natural antigens or to vaccines. This has led to an integration of molecular biological, biochemical/proteomic and cell biology approaches to focus upon molecular underpinnings in a true physiological context. These efforts led to the development of the first bispecific antibody reagents for specific depletion of T cell subsets, to the discovery and characterization of attractin protein, and most recently been applied to the molecular dynamics of plexinD1 on CD4+CD8+ thymocytes and its relation to thymic selection. In addition, I am actively involved in studies examining function of the preTCR during thymic development as well as analyzing aspects of the immune response at the protein-protein interaction level to viral infection.