Alexandra Kreins MD, PhD

Alexandra Yema Kreins is an Early Career Researcher and Paediatric Immunologist. She holds a Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellowship to study thymus biology and T-cell lymphopoiesis in the context of thymus transplantation for patients with congenital athymia, who are treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) in London, UK. Her research at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute for Child Health (ICH) is focused on improving outcomes for children with congenital athymia.

Congenital athymia causes life-threatening T-cell immunodeficiency, and the only definitive treatment is thymus transplantation. GOSH is one of two centres worldwide to offer this treatment. One of the exciting areas of translational research by the Thymus Transplantation Research Programme at GOSH and ICH is the identification and characterisation of novel inborn errors of immunity associated with profound T-cell lymphopenia, in particular novel thymic stromal cell defects. Ex vivo differentiation of haematopoietic stem cells and iPSC-based differentiation of thymic epithelial progenitors are powerful tools for disease modelling. By gaining new insights into the biology of thymic epithelial cells and T-cell development, this unique research programme also aims to improve current treatment strategies for congenital athymia and to advance alternative approaches for thymus replacement therapy.