Laura Simpson

I used miRNA expression profiling on the Fluidigm Biomark to identify important miRNAs in airway CD4 T cells of asthmatic patients. I found that miR-19a was significantly upregulated in asthma, and I went on to show that miR-19 promotes the production of Th2 cytokines, which are important in asthma pathogenesis.

I moved from Georgia to SF to join the BMS program here in August 2009. Before that I was at the University of Georgia studying biology and spanish, and working on the immunology of Chagas disease. Since coming to UCSF I have become interested in epigenetic regulation of immune responses, particularly the role of miRNAs in Th2 differentiation and their importance in asthma.