Robert Rickert

Biography

Dr. Rickert earned his Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 1992. He trained as a postdoctoral fellow at The Institute for Genetics in Cologne, Germany. In 1997, Dr. Rickert was appointed as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Biological Sciences at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Rickert was recruited to the Inflammatory and Infectious Disease Center at SBP as an Associate Professor in 2004.

Research Interest

The general focus of the lab is to better understand the molecular determinants of B lymphocyte differentiation in the normal and disease state. By necessity, these studies explore the in vivo environments of the primary (bone marrow) and secondary (spleen and lymphnode) lymphoid tissues, but also extend to tertiary sites to address infection, inflammation, autoimmunity and B cell neoplasia. Conditional gene targeting is widely applied to assess gene function and establish key signaling networks operating at distinct stages of B cell differentiation. In addition, in vitro cell culture systems, microscopy, flow cytometry and signal transduction approaches are utilized to examine cell-cell interactions and the molecular basis of B cell responses to antigen, cytokines, growth factors and metabolites.