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Richard Locksley

Richard Locksley is a medical doctor, professor and researcher of infectious diseases, who pioneered approaches to study immunology.[1] He is a professor of medicine and microbiology and immunology at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, where he also serves as the director of the Sandler Asthma Basic Research Center. He is also an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. In 2018, he was inducted into the National Academy of Sciences for his work on immunology.

Early life

Locksley graduated from Kent School in 1966. He received a Bachelor of Arts in biochemistry from Harvard College in 1970 and Doctor of Medicine from the University of Rochester in 1976. He completed his residency at University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine in 1980 and trained in infectious diseases at the University of Washington 1980-1983.

Career and research

Locksley joined the faculty of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in 1986 as Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases and established a laboratory focused on type-2 immunity.[2] In 2004 he founded the Sandler Asthma Basic Research Center (SABRE), which unites immunology, genetics and airway-disease biology, and he continues to serve as its director.[3]

Defining type-2 immunity

Locksley’s group created bicistronic IL-4/IL-13 reporter mice that allowed the first direct visualization of T-helper-2 cytokine production in vivo.[4] Using these and related models, his laboratory co-discovered group-2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s), demonstrating their essential role in parasite expulsion and allergic airway inflammation.[5] His recent work maps neuro-immune circuits in which enteric neurons and tuft cells activate ILC2s to coordinate barrier immunity.[6]

Influence and teaching

Over four decades he has trained more than 60 graduate students and post-doctoral fellows and co-directed UCSF’s advanced immunology courses.[3] The American Association of Immunologists (AAI) honored him with its Excellence in Mentoring Award in 2023.[7]

Awards and honors

  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator (1997 – present)[2]
  • Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (elected 2005)[8]
  • William E. Paul Award for Excellence in Cytokine Research (2016, International Cytokine & Interferon Society)[9]
  • Fellow, American Academy of Microbiology (elected 2017)[citation needed]
  • Member, National Academy of Sciences (elected 2018)[10]
  • AAI Distinguished Fellow (2019)[11]

Selected publications

  • Locksley RM. "The ins and outs of innate and adaptive type-2 immunity." Science 356 (2017): eaal4373.[12]
  • Mohrs M, Shinkai K, Locksley RM. "A bifunctional reporter mouse reveals dynamics of Th2 cytokine-producing T cells." Nat Immunol 6 (2005): 1245–1251.[13]
  • O’Leary CE et al. "Neuro-immune crosstalk activates protective intestinal immunity." Cell 185 (2022): 713–731.[14]

References

  1. ^ American Academy of Microbiology. Richard Locksley, American Academy of Microbiology website, 2016. Accessed 14 December 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Richard M. Locksley, MD – HHMI Investigator". Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Richard M. Locksley, MD". Sandler Asthma Basic Research Center, UCSF. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  4. ^ Mohrs, M.; Shinkai, K.; Locksley, R.M. (2005). "A bifunctional reporter mouse reveals dynamics of Th2 cytokine-producing T cells in vivo". Nature Immunology. 6 (12): 1245–1251. doi:10.1038/ni1264. PMID 16273099.
  5. ^ Neill, D.R.; Wong, S.H.; Locksley, R.M. (2010). "Nuocytes represent a new innate effector leukocyte that mediates type-2 immunity". Nature. 464 (7293): 1367–1370. doi:10.1038/nature08900. PMC 2862165. PMID 20200518.
  6. ^ O'Leary, C.E.; Locksley, R.M. (2022). "Neuro-immune crosstalk activates protective intestinal immunity". Cell. 185 (4): 713–731.e17. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2022.01.024. PMID 35150859.
  7. ^ "AAI Excellence in Mentoring Award – 2023 Recipient: Richard M. Locksley". American Association of Immunologists. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  8. ^ "Richard Michael Locksley". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  9. ^ "2016 BioLegend William E. Paul Award Recipient: Richard Locksley". International Cytokine & Interferon Society. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  10. ^ "Richard M. Locksley". National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  11. ^ "AAI Distinguished Fellows – Class of 2019". American Association of Immunologists. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  12. ^ Locksley, Richard M. (5 May 2017). "The ins and outs of innate and adaptive type-2 immunity". Science. 356 (6337): eaal4373. doi:10.1126/science.aal4373. PMID 28495871.
  13. ^ Mohrs, Matthias; Shinkai, Kinya; Mohrs, Karsten; Locksley, Richard M. (December 2005). "A bifunctional reporter mouse reveals dynamics of Th2 cytokine-producing T cells". Nature Immunology. 6 (12): 1245–1251. doi:10.1038/ni1168. PMID 16273099.
  14. ^ O'Leary, Connor E.; Peralta, Raffaella; Allen, Natalie E.; Boyd, Rebecca L.; Haber, Alan L.; Locksley, Richard M. (17 February 2022). "Neuro-immune crosstalk activates protective intestinal immunity". Cell. 185 (4): 713–731.e17. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2022.01.017. PMC 8897247. PMID 35163992.