Tracy L. Mcgaha MS, PhD

Dr. McGaha obtained his Ph.D. in Immunology at the Ichan School of Medicine at New York University in 2002 and pursued post-doctoral training at Rockefeller University from 2002 to 2006. Dr. McGaha joined the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre as a Senior Scientist in 2015. He is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Immunology at the University of Toronto. Dr. McGaha has a research interest that encompasses cell communication and immune-suppressive mechanisms in the occurrence of apoptosis; his laboratory uses an in vivo model of apoptotic cell challenge testing potential mechanisms involved in the innate response elicited by tissue-resident macrophages and dendritic cells. In particular, they are interested in apoptotic cell-driven chemotaxis and functional interactions between tissue-resident macrophages, tolerogenic CD103+ dendritic cells, and regulatory T cell populations. The McGaha Lab was one of the first to demonstrate that specialized tissue-resident stromal macrophages control early immunity to apoptotic cells regulating both dendritic cell and T cell responses to apoptotic antigens, and disrupting the function of these macrophage subsets renders mice susceptible to apoptotic cell-driven autoimmune disease. In juxtaposition, the team is also studying how immune responses to programmed cell death are influenced by metabolic stress signals and innate signaling, in the context of autoimmunity and cancer.