Ataide Marco A

Dr. Ataide has obtained his Ph.D. in Immunology under the supervision of Prof. Ricardo Gazzinelli in 2014. During his doctorate studies, he explored the molecular and cellular basis of innate immunity-driven malaria pathogenesis. His studies shed light on the role of the inflammasome activation and monocytes-derived dendritic cells in malaria pathogenesis. In 2015 he moved to Germany to join the Leukocytes Dynamics lab headed by Prof. Wolfgang Kastenmüller, now as part of the Max Planck Research Group / Würzburg Systems Immunology Institute. At Kastenmüller's lab, he had the opportunity to explore the adaptive immune system and its interface with innate immunity, focusing on spatiotemporal aspects of in vivo intercellular communication. He also has studied one of the most quintessential aspects of adaptive immunity, the molecular basis of the CD8 T cell memory development. This study was recently published in Nature Immunology (Ataide et. al., 2020) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-020-0786-2. His major scientific interest is related to Systems Immunology, Innate immunity, T cells' biology, T cell engineering, and immunotherapy.