As a postdoctoral research fellow in Dr. Griffith's laboratory, I am interested in the unique lymphopoietic stromal microenvironment in the thymus. The thymus is a specialized primary lymphoid organ responsible for the generation and development of T cells, which play a central role in the immune response. However, as we age the thymus atrophies, resulting in decreased production of new naïve T cells. Homeostatic expansion of memory T cells compensates for decreasing T cell generation, resulting in an oligoclonal T cell pool with diminished T cell receptor (TCR) diversity. These age-associated changes can lead to decreased responses to vaccines and infections, and increased susceptibility to autoimmune disease. Our goal is to identify mechanisms governing age-induced thymic dysfunction in order to delay or reverse declines in T cell immunity in the elderly.