Olivier Lantz received his degrees from Paris Orsay University in 1986 and 1990, respectively. He studies the biology of NKT and MAIT cells and CD4 T cells and the interactions between the immune system and tumors. He discovered MAIT cells and performed their initial characterization in several species. He demonstrated their anti-microbial reactivity restricted by MR1 and evidenced their abundance in human blood. He demonstrated that MAIT cells are selected and expand in the thymus after stimulation by a bacterial metabolite. He currently focuses on the development of MAIT cells and the analysis of their function in mouse models.