University of Hawai‘i scholar Jouran Posner attended the Keystone Symposium on B Cells at the Intersection of Innate and Adaptive Immunity over the summer, thanks to funding from her ARCS/Roche Foundation Award in Medicine. She was invited to give a short talk on her research in addition to her poster presentation at the meeting, which emphasized the effector and regulatory functions of B cells and the role of B cells beyond antibody production.

Posner, who has completed her second of three years as an ARCS/Roche Foundation Scholar, studies how pattern recognition receptor ligands drive the differentiation and activation of human B cell subsets—an important aspect in the development of vaccines. “This was such a rewarding experience,” she said. “I also networked with other B cell immunologists, learned from those at the forefront of B cell research and received invaluable feedback on my own research.

“Sweden was wonderful! Such a great experience and a beautiful country. I was lucky to have great weather while there,” she added. “I'd like to thank the ARCS Foundation for selecting me as the Roche/ARCS Scholar Award in Medicine recipient. Without this award, attending this meeting would have been impossible.”

Posner is a PhD candidate in the John A. Burns School of Medicine’s Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology.