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Prof

Pavel Tolar

Professor

Div of Infection & Immunity

Orcid identifier0000-0003-4693-7299
  • Professor
    Div 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

  • Professor
    University College London, Div of Infection & Immunity

ACADEMIC POSITIONS

  • Professor
    University College London, Div of Infection & Immunity, London, United Kingdom1 Jul 2020 - present

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

  • 3 Good Health and Well Being

FIELDS OF RESEARCH