Investigating the dark side of the immune system

About

Autoimmune diseases arise due to the recognition of self as non-self by the immune system. Even though mechanisms of tolerance and control exist, these are altered in patients, and are notably difficult to characterize. Autoimmune diseases are chronic, reduce the lifespan of those suffering them, and significantly worsen their quality of life. Here, we will present our trajectory in the field, including the study of the molecular mechanisms underlying these diseases, as well as novel approaches to treat them by targeting inflammatory pathways.

Bio

Dr. Iria Gomez-Tourino is Associate Professor at the USC and principal investigator of the Immunity and Small Molecules Lab. She has been awarded several fellowships and awards, amounting to more than 1,580,000€, including two prestigious Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual fellowships (King’s College London, UK, 2013-2015, and USC, Spain, 2018-2020) and more recently the Career Development Award of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (2023-2028). The latter is aimed at fostering the career of exceptionally promising researchers in the Type 1 Diabetes field, and only three researchers receive this award yearly around the globe. 67% of her publications are in D1 journals, this being the case for her last four articles (Nature Communications, Diabetologia, FASEB Journal and Nature Immunology). Dr. Gomez is also the inventor of 3 patents, a European Union Expert Evaluator, and an elected member of the Board of Directors of the Spanish Society of Immunology (2022-2026). She is also very active in outreach activities.