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Discovery of the telomere transfer biology and its link to the first HIV cure
In-person only
When T cells get younger, the body remembers how to heal. At the onset of their lifespan, CD4⁺ T cells unleash a regenerative code: telomere “Rivers” transferred from antigen-presenting cells spread youth across aged tissues and organisms. This transfer biology also dismantles HIV latency — enabling the first functional cure. Medicating this process revives terminally differentiated T cells, restores telomeric length, and reprograms stem-like responses. Rather than terminal decline, the end of a T cell marks renewal and reveals properties not previously existent. Age, once a boundary, becomes reversible — through the flow of telomeres. Thus, the immune system possesses self-healing properties that can be transplanted.
Date:
10 October 2025, 12:00
Venue:
Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, Headington OX3 7FY
Venue Details:
Kennedy Lecture Theatre
Speaker:
Prof Alessio Lanna (UCL)
Organising department:
Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS)
Organiser:
Katie Roberts (University of Oxford)
Host:
Prof Mike Dustin (PROFESSOR OF IMMUNOLOGY AND WELLCOME PRINCIPAL RESEARCH FELLOW, DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH OF THE KENNEDY INSTITUTE)
Part of:
Kennedy Institute Seminars
Booking required?:
Not required
Audience:
Members of the University only
Editor:
Katie Roberts
