Dylan Kain

I am a clinician–scientist and infectious diseases physician whose research focuses on understanding immune responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and applying these insights to the development of improved vaccines and immunotherapies. My laboratory studies human T-cell responses to tuberculosis with a particular focus on unconventional T cell populations and early immune development with the aim of informing future TB vaccine development.

I completed my medical training and infectious diseases fellowship in Canada before pursuing a PhD in immunology at Oregon Health & Science University. During my doctoral work, I used single-cell sequencing and high-dimensional immune profiling to study donor-unrestricted T (DURT) cells, including MR1-restricted T cells and γδ T cells. These unconventional T cell populations recognize microbial metabolites and stress signals rather than classical peptide antigens and are increasingly recognized as important components of early host defense against tuberculosis and other intracellular pathogens. A central focus of my research has been understanding how these cells develop early in life and how vaccination shapes their function. 

At the University of Toronto, my lab will integrate human cohort studies, single-cell genomics, and T cell receptor analysis to understand how unconventional T cells contribute to protection against tuberculosis. We are particularly interested in how early-life immune development and vaccination shape long-term immune responses, and how these insights can inform the design of next-generation TB vaccines. To do this, I have ongoing collaborations in The Gambia and South Africa to enroll human participants with TB disease or TB exposures to understand the underlying immunology and how this can inform future TB vaccine development.