Steven Bensinger
Assistant Professor
Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
University of California, Los Angeles
VMD: 1998
PhD: 2003
Graduate Group: Immunology
Thesis Topic: Development and function of a CD4+25+ regulatory T cells
The Bensinger laboratory is largely interested in understanding how lipid metabolism influences lymphocyte proliferation and adaptive immunity. They have recently identified a cholesterol metabolic checkpiont that regulates mitogen-driven cell cycle progression in lymphocytes. Key ongoing studies include elucidating the signals from the T cell receptor to the lipid metabolic machinery, and the impact of lipid metabolism on the efficient generation of immunologic T cell memory. Another important series of studies in the laboratory is focused on understanding how lipid signals alter immunologic self-tolerance, and result in chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.