Benjamin McMaster

I am a DPhil student supervised by Dr Hashem Koohy and Dr Charlotte Deane and am interested in applying computational approaches to understand immune mechanisms underpinning health and disease.

T cells are a key part of our immune system, responsible for fighting pathogens and regulating immune responses. To identify foreign invaders T cells, use their receptors (TCRs) to rapidly screen and identify antigens. Although, key to our health and survival, the map between TCR composition and antigens is still poorly understood. I aim to apply newly develop deep learning models in protein structure prediction to TCR data to better understand the rules that govern antigen-specific T cell response.

Before starting my DPhil, I did my undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of British Columbia. I had the opportunity to take part in several research projects revolving around designing computational methods to understand human biology and immune response. These inspired me to pursue a DPhil in the area with the aim of ultimately conducting impactful research for human health.