Cookies on this website
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Continue' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Contact information

My connections

Alessio Lanna

Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow

I graduated summa cum laude in Biotechnology at the University Tor Vergata of Rome in July 2008, and was awarded a summa cum laude Master degree in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology by the University La Sapienza of Rome in January 2011. The same year, I was awarded a MRC-funded PhD Fellowship by the University College London (UCL), and joined Professor Arne Akbar's research group at the Division of Infection and Immunity in September 2011. During my PhD, I investigated mechanisms of telomerase down-regulation in lymphocytes and identified a new pathway for activation of p38 MAPK in primary human T cells. In this pathway, intra-cellular changes such as low-nutrient and senescence signals converge to negatively regulate T cell responses ('Intra-Sensory' signaling). During this time, I served as invited speaker at the International Congress of Immunology (ICI, Milan 2013), and held a Bright Sparks in Immunology lecture at the European Congress in Immunology (ECI, Vienna 2015). After my PhD, I was offered Post-doctoral Fellowships by the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) and the Wellcome Trust. Presently, I serve as a Sir Henry Wellcome Trust Fellow under the Sponsorship of Professor Michael L Dustin at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, University of Oxford. I hold an Honorary Research Associate contract at UCL, and international collaborations with Professors Michael Karin (University California San Diego) and Erika L Pearce (Max Planck Institute For Immune-biology and Epigenetics, Freiburg) and Dr. Enrico Lugli (Humanitas Cancer Research Centre, Milan). My mentor is Professor Mala Maini (UCL). Our work will introduce a hitherto unknown immune-inhibitory complex, identifying strategies to restore adaptive immunity during ageing and in tumour disease. The overall aim is to define the interplay between senescence and metabolic signals in controlling T cell function.

True True

Recent Publications

5 View 5 more »