Undergraduate Student

Priscila Aguilar is a third-year Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics student at the University of California, Los Angeles. As an undergraduate, she conducts research in Dr. Gay Crooks’s lab. In the Crooks Lab, our focus lies in understanding the process of immune system development, both in its natural course and from pluripotent stem cells. Priscila’s research project involves investigating regulatory T cell function by studying the transcription factor forkhead box P3, FOXP3. Currently, she is working to characterize the effects of FOXP3 expression through isoform engineering, in which specific isoforms of the gene can be overexpressed in induced pluripotent stem cells. Her forthcoming experiments involve employing lentiviral engineering to specifically express one isoform of the FOXP3 gene. This work will be pivotal for understanding the potential of regulatory T cell (Treg) generation within the artificial thymic organoid (ATO) system and defining the role of this transcription factor in generating a suppressive cell type. Priscila would like to thank the Crooks Lab, particularly Dr. Gay Crooks, Anthony Azzun, and Lindsay Lathrop, for their invaluable mentorship and support. She would also like to thank the CARE Fellows Program for its support and the opportunity it provided for her to delve into research.