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Prof. Arup K Chakraborty
John M Deutch (1961) Institute Professor
Professor of Chemical Engineering, Physics and Chemistry
Founding Member, Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), MIT and Harvard
Primary DLC
Institute for Medical Engineering and Science
MIT Room:
E25-338
(617) 253-3890
arupc@mit.edu
http://chemistry.mit.edu/profile/arup-k-chakraborty/
Assistant
Naomh Fairweather
(617) 324-4976
nfairwea@mit.edu
Areas of Interest and Expertise
Cell-Cell Recognition in Immunology
T Cell Biology
Polymers and Membranes
Statistical Mechanics
Biological Sensing and Detection for Bioterror Prevention
Molecular and Cellular Immunology
Immune Response to HIV
Cell Membranes
Research Summary
Humans have an adaptive immune system which is remarkable in that it enables us to mount pathogen – specific responses against a diverse and evolving world of pathogens. The central focus of our group is to understand the mechanistic underpinnings of the adaptive immune response to pathogens, and harness this understanding to help design better vaccines and therapies. Our work represents a crossroad of the physical and life sciences. The adaptive immune response is mediated by collective dynamic processes with many participating components. These collective processes span a spectrum of scales, from molecules to the scale of the organism (a human), and are inherently stochastic in character. We work on developing and applying theoretical and computational approaches (rooted in statistical physics) to study these processes. A hallmark of these efforts is the close synergy and collaboration between our theoretical/computational studies and experimental investigations in leading immunology laboratories and by clinicians in medical schools. Current interests can be divided into three broad categories. We are interested in understanding the molecular interactions that enable T cells, orchestrators of the adaptive immune response, to translate engagement of surface receptors to pathogens in to function. We are interested in how T cell development in the thymus results in T cells that are specific for unknown and emerging pathogens. We work on understanding the human immune response to HIV, with the goal of aiding efforts to design a vaccine against this scourge on the planet. Our group is also interested in cell membrane biophysics.
Recent Work
Books
Publication date:
February 1, 2021
Books
Andrey S. Shaw,
Prof. Arup K Chakraborty
Viruses, Pandemics, and Immunity
Related Faculty
Melinda Lyman-Wright
Personnel Administrator
Dr. Gang Song
Research Scientist
Dr. Leo Anthony G Celi
Senior Research Scientist