Kai Kisand is a Professor of Cellular Immunology. She got her MD from the University of Tartu, Estonia and earned a PhD from the same university in 1999. She undertook post-doctoral training at the Uppsala University, Sweden. Currently she is the Research Professor of Cellular Immunology at the Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu. Her major research interests have been related to monogenic autoimmunity and more recently to immune response to SARS-CoV-2 and its vaccine. Her research has importantly contributed to revealing the indispensable role of Th17 cytokines in the protection of the epithelial surfaces from Candida infection and type I IFNs in protection from severe COVID-19. Besides research work she is teaching immunology to postgraduate students and supervising multiple MSc and PhD studies.
