Luca Verger

I am a research assistant in the Progatzky group. We study the mechanisms via which different cell types cooperate to maintain tissue homeostasis and respond to inflammation or injury. Our primary objective is to understand how such tissue-regulatory processes take place in mucosal barriers such as the gut and lungs, which are at the interface between the host and the environment. Our main cells of interest are peripheral glia, which were recently shown to be key immune regulators in the enteric nervous system.

During my undergraduate studies at UCL, I joined the Reuter lab to study mito-nuclear interactions in Drosophila. I then obtained a Master's of Research degree from Imperial College, where I undertook two distinct projects. First, I took part in the research of the Tiengwe lab, which aims at elucidating the iron intake mechanisms of Trypanosoma brucei. I then joined the Pachnis lab at the Francis Crick Institute where I studied the influence of the microbiota on the neuro-glial networks of barrier organs, under Dr Progatzky's supervision.