School of Infection & Immunity

Dr James Harker

Title: Tissue resident and lymphoid follicular helper responses and their role in respiratory immunity

Synopsis: 

T follicular helper cells (Tfh) play a critical role in shaping immunological memory, capable of driving both pathological and protective immune responses, especially via their intimate interaction with B cells. This talk will share the team's work testing the importance on Tfh following respiratory viral infections and in asthma. It will highlight some key differences between the function of Tfh within secondary lymphoid tissue and within the lungs themselves, and methods that can be used to module these responses to promote protective immunity.

Bio:

James is currently an Associate Professor in Respiratory Science in the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial. He has a longstanding interest in the regulation of adaptive immune responses especially in early life. Throughout his Cancer Research Institute fellowship in San Diego with Elina Zuniga and his Sir Henry Dale fellowship back in the UK James became particular focused on the contextually specific ability of T follicular helper cells, specialized CD4 T cells that intimately interact with B cells, to shape immunological outcomes. Using a mix of in vitro system, mouse models and clinical samples his team's current focus aims to exploit these immune pathways to improve immunity during early life encounters with infections and allergens. 

First published: 7 August 2026

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