Our Mission

Neutrophils are the most abundant leukocyte in the blood, known for their fast and moldable inflammatory response upon injury. These innate immune cells are mostly known by their "dark side" due to their role in immunopathology of numerous human diseases; however, neutrophils also have a "light side" supporting vital functions in tissue repair and tissue homeostasis. Currently, there is a quite a good amount of knowledge regarding neutrophils and their function in homeostasis and in traditional inflammatory conditions. However, little is understood about the impact of chronic systemic inflammation on neutrophil biology. Millions of people all around the world live with chronic low-grade systemic inflammation that can be triggered by different environmental or genetic factors.  In our lab, we focus on understanding how neutrophils and the neutrophilic "traditional" inflammatory response is altered by the presence of systemic inflammation, with a particular focus on metainflammation (inflammation triggered by metabolic imbalance) and inflammaging (inflammation triggered by aging). In addition, we also study how neutrophils regulate the development and progression of liver diseases, including Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC), and Fibrolamellar Carcinoma (FLC). 

Our model- The Zebrafish  

In our lab we make use of the Zebrafish model, a well-established model known by its exceptional transparency, scalability and ease of genetic and pharmacological manipulation. These characteristics makes the zebrafish a unique vertebrate system that allows us to perform large-scale non-invasive live imaging of immune cell responses and to dissect cell-cell interactions in a whole animal context.  

We are taking advantage of this system to address fundamental questions regarding the impact of diet associated metabolic dysfunction and its relevance to the progression of human diseases.