Internship/Master project: Investigating inhibitory immune receptor activation

Have you ever wondered how immune cells work? Are you interested in seeing them in action using advanced microscopy? Then this could be the internship for you!
In the internship, you will investigate how inhibitory immune receptors become activated and how ligand mobility matters.

Work Activities

Inhibitory immunoreceptors play an essential role in maintaining immune homeostasis. In our lab we study leukocyte-associated immunoglobulin-like receptor 1 (LAIR-1), an inhibitory pattern recognition receptor that is activated by collagens and proteins with collagen-like domains. These ligands can be presented to LAIR-1 in several forms, including stiff collagen fibers, diffusing membrane proteins, and soluble secreted proteins, each with markedly distinct mobility profiles.

Current models propose that LAIR-1 is activated via ligand-induced receptor clustering. While ligand mobil...