Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology Seminar
Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Golnaz Vahedi, PhD

Associate Professor of Genetics
University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine

The Vahedi Lab integrates computational and experimental approaches to develop a single-to-collective-cell understanding of gene regulation in immune cells in health and disease. The overarching goal of the lab is to understand the molecular mechanisms through which genomic information in our immune cells is interpreted in normal development and further dissect how common genetic variation can lead to misinterpretation of the genetic material in immune mediated diseases, particularly autoimmune disorders. They blend epigenomics, human genetics, immunology, and computational biology to pursue a new understanding of human immunology.

Vahedi's team exploits the epigenomic mapping of immune cells to understand the biological circuits that underlie immune responses and uncover the molecular basis of major inherited diseases mediated by these cells. Specifically, they generate genome-wide maps of chromatin in relevant immune cells, primarily T cells. She is interested in regulators of T cell development and T cell engagement in autoimmune disorders such as psoriasis and type 1 diabetes. The lab uses population-based assays with strong signal-to-noise ratios such as ChIP-seq, ATAC-seq, and RNA-seq, in addition to cutting-edge single-cell assays such as single-cell (sc)ATAC-seq and scRNA-seq. As a result of their computational expertise, they also harvests the vast troves of big data that immunologists and other researchers are pouring into public repositories, with data integrations relying on available computational pipelines. Furthermore, the lab develops novel computational techniques to fully understand the complexity of multidimensional epigenomics datasets in T cells.

Details

Dates
February 15, 2022
Time
10:00-11:00am PST
Location
Online
Contact(s)





The Gladstone-UCSF Institute of Genomic Immunology Seminar Series showcases speakers at the intersection of genomic technology and immunology research with an aim to engineer the human immune system for therapeutic benefit. Speakers span technology development, synthetic biology, bioengineering, and the development and clinical application of immunotherapy. These talks are open to the Gladstone and UCSF communities.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At Gladstone, we are committed to providing events and professional development activities that resonate with our community’s diverse members. Our goal is to develop creative programming that encompasses a wide variety of ideas and perspectives to inspire, educate, and engage with everyone within our walls.

We want to effect positive change through our events and activities by providing a platform for discussions on important topics related to increasing diversity and inclusiveness in the sciences.