MHC I antigen presentation and cancer immune evasion.
Research seminar presented by:
Kenneth L. Rock
Professor and Chair
Department of Pathology, UMass Chan Medical School
About Professor Kenneth L. Rock
Professor Kenneth L. Rock has been a Chairman of a department with a basic science immunology division for 26 years and a principle investigator of an immunology research lab for 40 years. His research has focused in two areas. One focus area is the elucidation of how cell death and danger signals influence immune responses. These processes are thought to underlie the development of innate and adaptive immune responses to injured cells. They also cause sterile inflammation that is thought to underlie the pathogenesis of a number of diseases, such as gout and atherosclerosis. In this area, his lab has established the molecular identity of the first endogenous danger signal (MSU) and a key common pathway, involving IL-1 and inflammasomes, through which many structurally distinct stimuli cause sterile inflammation. The second focus area is on antigen presentation. His laboratory has established many of the key underlying mechanisms in antigen presentation including the role of the various proteasomes (constitutive, immuno and thymo forms), cytosolic aminopeptidases, and ERAP1 in MHC class I presentation, the cellular and cell biological basis of cross presentation, and the underlying mechanisms of antigen presentation in T-B cell interactions. He is an ISI highly cited researcher and with a high citation index (an overall H-index of 80; iCite RCR or 3.7; with his top primary paper in antigen presentation (citation #2b below) cited >3163 times; and top primary paper in sterile inflammation (citation 5d below) cited >3500 times.
Public Health
