Alex Marson,

I was lucky to work under the joint mentorship of Rick Young and Rudolf Jaenisch at the Whitehead Institute at MIT for my PhD training. Using genomic techniques, I studied how multiple cell types, all with identical genetic information, establish highly specialized identities. My research focused on two medically important cell types: regulatory T cells, which are essential in preventing autoimmune disease; and embryonic stem cells, whose potential to differentiate into every type of adult cell offer great promise for regenerative medicine. After finishing medical school, and then my internship and residency at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, I came west to UCSF.  After completing my final year of full time clinical work as an infectious diseases fellow, I am now a UCSF Sandler Fellow working in the UCSF Diabetes Center.  We are continuing our studies of the molecular circuitry of T cells to learn how subsets CD4+ T develop the highly specialized functions needed for immune homestasis.