B cells are essential members of the adaptive immune system and help protect us from foreign invaders, such as viruses. However, in autoimmune disorders B cells recognize self antigens and start to attack a part of a person’s own body. B cells play critical roles in development of autoimmunity by acting as autoantibody manufacturers, antigen-presenting cells, and producers of cytokines. Under normal circumstances self-reactive B-cells are silenced by mechanisms, such as receptor editing and anergy, to prevent development of autoimmunity. However, in autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes (T1D), B-cells escape these silencing mechanisms through pathways not yet fully understood. The Smith Lab aims to learn more about the role of B cells in autoimmunity and the mechanisms they undertake to escape normal silencing in order to prevent or treat autoimmune disease.