Microbiology and Immunology
Medical School
Twin Cities
Award Year
2020
University Award
Distinguished McKnight University Professors
Research Title
T cell immune surveillance
Section A
, Location 14
T cells survey the body, eliminate infected or cancerous cells, and form memories that enhance future immune responses. Inappropriate T cell responses cause autoimmunities, allergies, and inflammatory diseases. David Masopust’s work defined how T cells survey the body, form immunological memory, and identified and characterized a major immune system component, tissue resident memory T cells. Masopust examines how these cells can be leveraged to form vaccines and therapies for infectious disease, cancer, and chronic inflammation.