Research interests
The immune system is a decentralized network of specialized organs and cells that synergistically survey tissues and eliminate potential threats to the organism. T lymphocytes, one of the main components of the so-called adaptive immunity, were for long considered exclusive circulating cells that commuted between peripheral tissues and secondary lymphoid organs. This central idea was challenged at the turn of the century with the discovery of dedicated tissue-resident memory T cells (TRM), a subpopulation that upon activation migrates to peripheral tissues and establishes a long-term residence program. My project wants to understand how tissue cells, especially myeloid cells, are involved on setting up the TRM niche across tissues; and how maintenance of TRM depends on the local proliferation of stem-like Trm precursors.
