Wendy Watford, an assistant professor of infectious diseases in the College of Veterinary Medicine, was awarded $297,000 by the National Institutes of Health to determine how one type of enzyme known as MAP3k8 influences the immune response of white blood cells. Watford will look at the way MAP3k8 influences T cell functions to initiate host protective responses to pathogens while inhibiting autoimmunity. Understanding this process will shed light on disease development and may ultimately provide new approaches to treatment.
