Prof
Pavel TolarProfile page
Professor
Div of Infection & Immunity
- ProfessorDiv of Infection & Immunity
- University College London, Institute of Immunity and Transplantation, Pears Building, Room 310 Rowland Hill Street, London, NW3 2PP, United Kingdom
BIO
I am an immunologist interested in white blood cells called B lymphocytes (or B cells), which are responsible for producing antibodies but also contribute to immune diseases. I run a research lab at the Institute of Immunity and Transplantation, located in the Pears Building, part of the Division of Infection and Immunity.
Our research has contributed to understanding how B cells detect foreign antigens and present them to helper T cells. We showed that antigen detection is partly a mechano-sensing process and delineated the intracellular activation and antigen processing pathways B cells use to launch protective antibody responses. We are investigating how errors in these mechanisms contribute to immune deficiency, allergic reactions and the development of B cell lymphomas.
I obtained an MD degree at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, and a PhD in immunology at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Prague, where I studied the activation of mast cells. In 2003, I joined the lab of Susan Pierce at the National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland, USA, as a postdoctoral fellow to develop live-cell imaging technology for studies of B cell receptor triggering by antigens.
In 2009, I started an independent research lab focused on B cell activation as a Programme Leader at the MRC National Institute for Medical Research, London. I was awarded the EMBO Young Investigator Award in 2013 and became a Group Leader at the Francis Crick Institute in 2015.
I joined UCL as a Professor of B Cell Immunology in 2021.
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON APPOINTMENTS
- ProfessorUniversity College London, Div of Infection & Immunity
ACADEMIC POSITIONS
- ProfessorUniversity College London, Div of Infection & Immunity, London, United Kingdom1 Jul 2020 - present
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
- 3 Good Health and Well Being