Professor Mathis’ lab works in the broad fields of T cell differentiation and tolerance/autoimmunity, translating mechanistic studies on mouse models to normal and diseased humans. Studies on T cell differentiation focus on maturation and selection of the T cell repertoire in the thymus, and on cellular and molecular influences on the “flavor” of T cell responses in the periphery. Studies on autoimmunity explore the immunological mechanisms of type-1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and APECED, in particular central and peripheral mechanisms of T cell tolerance. Major questions tackled are what initiate these diseases, how is their progression regulated, what are the final effector mechanisms, and how do genetic and environmental factors impact on disease unfolding.