I joined Dr. Kuchroo's lab in June 2002 as a posdoctoral research fellow. I accomplished my graduate studies in Montpellier, a beautiful city in south of France in the lab of Dr. Naomi Taylor. My Ph.D. thesis dealt with novel approaches to the treatment of multiple hematological disorders. For that purpose, we used a dual approach: firstly, we worked on elucidating the effects of IL-7 stimulation on homeostasis of different human T cell subsets. Secondly, we developed gene transfer protocols for subsets of human T lymphocytes using both Murine leukemia virus (MLV)- and HIV-1-based retroviral vectors.

After graduating in February 2002, I received an EMBO fellowship that allowed me to come to the States and join Dr.Kuchroo's lab. Currently I am studying two novel Th1-specific molecules: PTA-1 and Tim-3. Specifically, I am interested in the role of PTA-1 on the CD4 T cell differentiation and generation of Tim-3-transgenic mice.