Tommaso Marchetti
Postdoctoral Researcher @ UZH
I am a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Immunology at the University Children’s Hospital Zurich (KISPI) and the University of Zurich (UZH). Previously, I was a Ph.D. student in the Pachlopnik Lab at the Life Science Zurich Graduate School. I completed my M.Sc. in Neurobiology at the University of Pavia, where I conducted my thesis at the Neuroengineering Laboratory at EPFL, and I hold a B.Sc. in Biology from the University of Milan.
My research focuses on the adaptive immune system and genetic inflammatory disorders, combining fundamental immunology with applied strategies to better understand and regulate immune responses. A central theme of my recent work has been uncovering mechanisms that can be leveraged to control immune behavior, with the goal of preventing or treating complex human diseases.
Research interests:
(1) Inflammation and Primary Immune Deficiencies - The immune system protects the body through inflammation, but when this response becomes dysregulated, it can cause harm. My research explores these mechanisms in genetic disorders that predispose individuals to infections and chronic inflammation. I have investigated conditions arising from defects in viral nucleic acid sensors and proteins essential for immune cell activation.
(2) Cytokines as Regulators of Immune Cell Behavior - Identifying genetic causes is only the first step, patients are often treated with broad immunosuppressants that lack precision. My work focuses on cytokines, the signaling proteins that coordinate immune responses, to develop targeted strategies for controlling inflammation. A key discovery was revealing a novel role of IL-2 in driving T cell dysfunction in HLH, advancing cytokine biology and informing potential therapies for affected children.
(3) Other Projects - I am currently developing diagnostic tools for immune-related diseases. Previously, I co-led projects on single-cell immune profiling to assess cytokine secretion and the cytotoxic activity of immune effector cells. Additionally, I contributed to an in vivo CRISPR/Cas9-based approach aimed at correcting mutations responsible for sight loss.