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What is your name?
Zi Yan Chen
What is your current position?
PhD student
Which institute and country do you work in?
Department of Immunology, University of Toronto
What is your home country?
Canada
What are your research interests?
Autoimmunity, Myelopoiesis, Developmental biology
Tell us about yourself and your research interests:
Immunology has always fascinated me as a “double-edged weapon”: it acts as a defense system, but it also can be self-destructive when uncontrolled. My journey into Immunology initiated with my BSc studies at the University of Toronto, specializing in Immunology. It was there where I first learned and became curious about autoimmunity. This led me to complete my MSc thesis under the supervision of Dr. Heyu Ni, where I studied the pathogenesis of a life-threatening disease called fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia and the consequences of the maternal immune response against fetal antigens on fetus survival and development. I am currently completing my PhD studies, under the supervision of Dr. Arthur Mortha, where I continue along my research interests to study immune system dysfunction. My project investigates tissue macrophage developmental and functional heterogeneity under homeostatic and autoimmune disease conditions.
My passion for research is paralleled by my interests in mentorship/teaching and science communication. When I am not in the lab, I am usually working on community-focussed teaching and mentoring initiatives and various writing projects. I fully support that scientific research should be easily communicable and transparent to engage public excitement and accessibility, and therefore, strive to do my part in opening the dialogue.
What are your online profiles?
LinkedIn – Zi Yan Chen
X: @zi_chen9
Immunology Keywords:
Macrophage, Autoimmunity, Development
