Although a thesis topic has yet to be selected, some areas of interest for the completion of a Ph.D. include: 1) Elucidation of the signaling pathways that lead to lymphocyte activation 2) Understanding of the roles and functions of dendritic cells in antigen presentation, induction of tolerance and immunological memory. 3) Characterization of the human anti-porcine immune response with the goal of aiding the development of xenotransplantation. The selection of these areas of research is based both on my particular interest and on the possible contribution of these studies on the treatment and prevention of disease.