Jennifer Puck, M.D., an expert on human primary immunodeficiencies at the University of California, San Francisco, will deliver the next Flexner Discovery Lecture on Thursday, Dec. 12.
Her lecture, “Early detection of severe immune defects by newborn screening,” will begin at 4 p.m. in 208 Light Hall. It is sponsored by the Department of Pediatrics.
Puck is professor of Immunology in the Department of Pediatrics and medical director of the Pediatric Clinical Research Center in the UCSF Clinical and Translational Research Institute’s Clinical Research Services Division.
She is a member of the Institute of Medicine and an investigator in the UCSF Institute for Human Genetics. Her scientific contributions include mapping and identifying the genes for X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency disorder and autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome.
Puck also developed a test to screen newborns for severe lymphocyte disorders based on detecting T-cell receptor excision circles (TREC), byproducts of normal T lymphocyte receptor rearrangement. The test is now part of the standard newborn screening panel in several states.
For more information about the Flexner Discovery Lectures, visit www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/discoveryseries.