Anastasia Kazimirova, B.S., Biochemistry
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Ph.D. Student in Immunology
E-mail: anastasia.kazimirova@tufts.edu

Our lab is interested in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a disorder characterized by the production of autoantibodies. In healthy individuals, B cells specific to auto-antigens are deleted or anergized by the mechanisms of self tolerance. In SLE patients, such mechanisms are not sufficient to eliminate the function of these cells, and autoimmune B cells are activated. Using several mouse models engineered in our lab, I am planning to determine the stages of B cell development at which activation occurs and the nature of the activation mechanisms that allow autoimmune B cells to breach self tolerance.