Sun Laboratory

Research in the Sun Laboratory concerns signal transduction that regulates immune cell functions, with a focus on T cell activation and tolerance. T cells play a central role in immune responses against pathogens and cancer. Under normal conditions, T cells mount robust responses to foreign antigens while maintaining tolerance to self-antigens. While tolerance is an important mechanism to prevent autoimmune diseases, it also poses a major obstacle for immune responses against cancer. Our goal is to better understand the signaling mechanisms that regulate T cell activation and self-tolerance, thereby improving immunotherapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases.