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Dr. Tania H. Watts (Born in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, UK) is a Canadian immunologist and biochemist. Dr. Tania Watts received her Bachelor and PhD degrees in Biochemistry at the University of Alberta. She then undertook post-doctoral studies in the Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, where she first became involved in immunology research Dr. Watts is currently a Professor of Immunology at the University of Toronto.

Biography & Academic Career
Growing up, Tania always wanted to know "why?", and was fascinated with every biological mechanism around her. This led her to do research that would have a clinical impact.

Tania Watts started her research career in the laboratory of Professor William (Bill) Paranchych investigating the structure and assembly of pili from Pseudomonas aeruginosa using techniques ranging from x-ray fiber diffraction to circular dichroism. After receiving her PhD, in 1983, Dr. Watts became a post doctoral fellow in a chemistry lab at Stanford University. This lab consisted of mostly physical chemists and she was recruited as one of the only biologists. This was around the time when T cell receptors were being discovered by Mark Davis. The existence of MHC-restricted T cells were discovered years before in the 70s, but with her vast biochemistry background, Dr. Watts elucidated the molecular peptide interaction between T cells and MHC. She purified MHC Class II from cells lines and incorporated them into model membranes (T Cell Hybridomas ). During this experiment, a surprise finding was that with and without T cells in the wells with MHC, there was cell death. Disappointed by these results, Dr. Watts was ready to give up on the experiment, when a colleague suggested to test the supernatant, and by using planar lipid bilayers to show that MHC II and peptide antigens in a lipid bilayer were necessary and sufficient for activation of CD4 T cell hybridomas a very significant paper in PNAS was published.

In 1986, with Herman Gaub, a physicist then also in the McConnell lab, Dr. Watts wanted to detect the physical interaction between peptide MHC and T cells. With her biophysics background she set up a microscope where, when the right T cell was added, the orientation between the peptide and MHC would change. This led to the first evidence for the existence of a tertiary complex between MHC II, peptide antigen and the TCR, using total internal reflection microscopy and fluorescence resonance energy transfer.

After her post doctoral work, in 1986, Dr. Watts took up a faculty position at the University of Toronto in the Department of Immunology, where her research has focused on T lymphocytes and immunity to infection. Upon starting her own laboratory, Dr. Watts drifted from her reductionist scientific approach and worked towards in vivo immunology and infections models. She continued her work in control of T cell activation, expanding her interests to include costimulation and the role of TNFR family members in immunity to infection.

"Her group was among the first to provide evidence for CD28-independent costimulation, publishing several early key papers on 4-1BBL as a costimulatory molecule . Dr. Watts’ group has also developed an interest in studying human immunity, for example, providing evidence that TRAF1, a key survival molecule for lymphocytes, is lost from HIV specific CD8 T cells with progression of HIV infection. The current focus of her group is to understand how different TNFR family members and their signaling adaptors contribute to survival of lymphocytes to control viral infections and how they also contribute to inflammation and cancer."

When Dr. Watts is not in the laboratory, she enjoys travelling with her husband (Senior Sceintist, Sunnybrook Research Institute) and spending time with her two children. Her most recent adventure was to the Galapagos Islands.

Most Significant Contributions/Publications

 * 1) Watts et al. (1984-12-01). "Antigen presentation by supported planar membranes containing affinity-purified I-Ad". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 81 (23): 7564–7568.
 * 2) Watts et al. (1986 Mar 13-19). "T-cell-mediated association of peptide antigen and major histocompatibility complex protein detected by energy transfer in an evanescent wave-field". Nature. 320 (6058): 179–181.
 * 3) Watts et al. (2019-03-13). "4-1BB Regulates Effector CD8 T Cell Accumulation in the Lung Tissue through a TRAF1-, mTOR-, and Antigen-Dependent Mechanism to Enhance Tissue-Resident Memory T Cell Formation during Respiratory Influenza Infection". Journal of Immunology (Baltimore, Md.: 1950).
 * 4) Watts et al. (01 2017). "The signaling adaptor TRAF1 negatively regulates Toll-like receptor signaling and this underlies its role in rheumatic disease". Nature Immunology. 18 (1): 26–35.
 * 5) Watts et al. (2012-01-16). "Loss of the signaling adaptor TRAF1 causes CD8+ T cell dysregulation during human and murine chronic infection". The Journal of Experimental Medicine. 209 (1): 77–91.

Leadership and Awards
·       University of Toronto: Director of the Faculty of Medicine Flow cytometry facility.

·       2006: CSI investigator Award

·       2009-present: Sanofi Pasteur Chair in Human Immunology at the University of Toronto.

·       2009-2011: President of the Canadian Society for Immunology

·       2010: Toronto Human Immunology Network founder (FOCIS Centre of Excellence)

·       2014: GSK fast track challenge

·       2016: Canadian Society for Immunology – Hardy Cinader Award Recipient Presentation: “From planar membranes to TNFRs, a tale of co-stimulation and collaboration”

·       2009-2018: F1000: Faculty Member

·       Mentored 25 graduate students, 15 post docs, and 25 undergraduate project students to date.

·       An advocate for vaccinations and has given public lectures explaining the flu vaccine.

·       Medical Research Council Scholar

·       Senior Scientist: National Cancer Institute of Canada

·       Funding: CIHR, MRC, Canadian Cancer Society