Fiamma Salerno

RESEARCH

My research focuses on the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underpin T and B cell fate decision. After infection or vaccination, T and B cells differentiate into progeny with specialized functions. In particular, CD4 T cells can differentiate to T helper 1 (Th1) cells, which are required to generate effective cytotoxic CD8 T cells, or T follicular helper (Tfh) cells, which are essential to select B cells producing high-affinity neutralizing antibodies. By combining in vivo mouse models, single-cell technologies and in vitro biochemical assays, I aim to elucidate how priming signals should be directed to CD4 T cells to optimally balance the formation of Th1 and Tfh cells, and thus promoting parallel CD8 T and B cell responses.

One focus of my work is to understand how receptor-ligand interactions instruct fate decisions by integrating signal transduction pathways and regulation of gene expression. In this context, my key interest is to elucidate how post-transcriptional control of mRNAs and selective control of protein translation regulate T and B cell differentiation. I therefore investigate the regulation and function of RNA-binding proteins that are central to the formation of regulatory feedback mechanisms that control immunity.

Altogether, my research will deliver new fundamental understanding that might inspire the design of new vaccine strategies aiming to promote optimal CD8 T cell and B cell responses simultaneously.

CURRICULUM VITAE

I studied Medical Biotechnologies at the University of Naples “Federico-II” (Italy), where I obtained my master degree summa cum laude. With an Erasmus scholarship I moved to The Netherlands and soon after I started my PhD-research in the group of Dr. Monika Wolkers at Sanquin in Amsterdam. Here, I discovered how post-transcriptional regulation enables rapid and innate functions of memory CD8 T cells, and contributes to the exhausted phenotype of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes. After graduating cum laude in 2018, I obtained an EMBO long-term fellowship to join the lab of Dr. Martin Turner at the Babraham Institute of Cambridge (UK), where I complemented my wet-lab skills with training in bioinformatics. In 2021 I continued my research in the Turner lab as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellow to study how RNA-binding proteins dictate B cell fate decisions that generate long-term immunity. Since January 2023, I am establishing my own research line at the LUMC, where I aim to elucidate how membrane receptor signaling controls T and B cell fate decisions through regulation of gene expression, and in particular through regulation of RNA translation. My research is currently funded by the 2021 NWO-VENI-grant and the 2023 LUMC Gisela Thier Fellowship.