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Kenneth H. Jones, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
jones.4@osu.edu

614-292-9665
614-292-7659

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Appointments:

Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Informatics-Division of Anatomy

Research Area:

The thymus is critical for the development of immune competence because of its primary role in the differention of T lymphocytes. My laboratory is studying some of the cellular mechanisms through which the thymus influences the development of T cells. To accomplish this we are using a tissue culture model to investigate the interactions between thymocytes and thymus stromal cells. Our goals are: 1) to define the cell-cell interactions that occur between differentiating thymocytes and thymus stromal cells, 2) to characterize the cellular contacts between thymocytes and thymus stromal cells, 3) to determine the role cell adhesion molecules play during intrathymic T cell development, and 4) to investigate the effects of advancing age on T cell development. This latter aspect of the research addresses the correlation between age-involution of the thymus and the age-related decline in immunological function.