Immune and metabolic mechanisms that increase an individual’s susceptibility to develop TB disease is a research focus of Texas Biomedical Research Institute’s Executive Vice President for Research. Dr. Turner studies the changes that take place in the immune system during the natural aging process and how those changes can influence both innate and adaptive immune function when infected with M. tuberculosis (M.tb). An additional area of research in Dr. Turner’s laboratory is the use of different mouse strains to better model immune responses in humans. By doing so, her team has defined a major role for an immune-suppressive cytokine, interleukin 10, in TB susceptibility.
