U Toronto and Sunnybrook Research Institute
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Dr. Dunn leads a research program that focuses on how risk factors for multiple sclerosis (MS) impact the immune system to modulate autoimmunity in an animal model of MS called experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and through studies of human blood cells. She currently is investigating the role of female sex, obesity, smoking, and head injury on autoimmunity in EAE and MS. In her past work, she made important contributions to understanding how statin drugs impact the immune system to ameliorate EAE. She also discovered that human and mouse female T cells produce higher levels of the Th1 cytokine IFN-gamma than male T cells and that this sex difference can be enhanced by obesity, increasing the risk of autoimmunity in animal models. She has also contributed to the understanding of how peroxisome proliferator activated receptors regulate T helper immunity and has an interest in developing better murine models of MS progression.
Obesity Influences Sex-Specific Interferon Signaling to Alter MS
Tuesday, October 28, 2025
2:30 PM – 3:00 PM Central Time
Disclosure(s): No financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose
