Dr. Vanessa Ribeiro Figliuolo da PazPostdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Pediatrics, The University of Arizona, USA
Biography
Dr. Vanessa is currently Post-doctoral Researcher Assistant at the University of Arizona Medical Center, where along to the team of Dr Ghishan and Kiela, she study immunology aspects of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). They are interested in studying the role of the adapter protein Dab2 in maintenance of immune tolerance mediated by TGF-? in dendritic cells. Additionally we intend to clarify the contribution of microbiome to the severity of inflammatory response in the brain and blood-brain barrier defect. She performed her PhD and Master in Biological Sciences at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), when she studied the role of purinergic signaling in immunology of the parasitic disease leishmaniasis and mucosal immune response in the gut.
Research Interest
Studying soluble signals involved in maintenance of the phenotype and function of intestinal dendritic cells during health and inflammatory. In addition, I am interested in clarifying how intestinal microbiome influence the immune response and chronic inflammation in different organs, mainly during the brain inflammation observed in patients with Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS). Finally, I am also involved in a study focusing on purinergic receptor signalling in T cells during murine model of intestinal inflammation.