Eduardo Villablanca

Eduardo Villablanca

Professor
Telephone: +46852484308
Visiting address: L8:03, CMM, Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset Solna, 17176 Stockholm
Postal address: K2 Medicin, Solna, K2 Imm o lung Villablanca E, 171 77 Stockholm

About me

  • During my Master degree, I was trained as a developmental biologist, with expertise in cell migration using zebrafish as in vivo model. As a doctoral student in the molecular medicine program at San Raffaele University, Milan, I started my training as immunologist with specific focus on dendritic cells (DC) and tumor cell interaction. I identified a novel immune escape mechanism in which tumors produce and secrete oxysterols, which in turn target LXR receptors inhibiting CCR7 expression in DC (*J. **immunol**, J. Leuko. Biol.* and *Nat. Medicine*). Interested in intestinal leukocyte trafficking, I joined J. Rodrigo Mora’s lab (Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston) to perform my postdoctoral training. During the first two years I contributed to determine the mechanisms by which intestinal DC gain their gut-associated tolerogenic properties (*Gastroenterology*, *J. Immunology, Cell*, etc.).

    In 2010, I won the prestigious postdoctoral fellow award from the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) and took the lead of a project aimed to further characterize the mechanisms of oral immunological tolerance induction. I found that expressions of gut homing receptors (e.g. CCR9) are crucial on leukocytes to establish oral immunological tolerance (*Gastroenteroglogy* and *Gut*). Given my accomplishments during my fourth and last year as a postdoctoral training I was supported by Dr. Mora and Dr. Ramnik Xavier (chief of the GI unit) to be promoted Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. As Instructor in Medicine and in order to start defining my own research path I joined Dr. Xavier lab to study the function of IBD risk genes in the context of intestinal immune homeostasis (*Nat. Comm., Immunity, Cell rep*., etc).

    Motivated by cutting-edge research performed as well as the prestige of the institution I decide to look for a position at the Karolinska Institutet. In 2013, I was awarded the Center for Immune Modulatory Therapies for Autoimmnity and Cancer (IMTAC) senior research fellow Based on a scientific plan proposing to study the connection between DC trafficking from the bone marrow and gut immunological tolerance. Hence I started my own research group in November 2014, as an assistant professor at the department of Medicine, Solna (MedS). With background in developmental biology, tumor and mucosal immunology using either zebrafish and mouse models as well as human samples, I believe I am poised to uniquely contribute to elucidate the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying IBD.

    In 2010, I won the prestigious postdoctoral fellow award from the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) and took the lead of a project aimed to further characterize the mechanisms of oral immunological tolerance induction. Hence I started my own research group as an assistant professor at the department of Medicine, Solna (MedS). I have received the Swedish Research Council Young Scientist Award (6 MSEK/4 years), FORMAS (3 MSEK/3 years) and I have been appointed as Wallenberg Academy Fellow (7.5 MSEK/5 years) towards developing a cutting-edge biomedical research program focused on intestinal mucosal immunology. I have achieved national and international recognition for my work as can be inferred from the numerous talks I have been giving in U.S., Europe, Asia and South-America, and from awards and funding I have obtained thus far. I have also been named one of the 40 under 40 most promising Latin-American Scientist by the South American magazine “Que Pasa”.

    Selected awards

    - Wallenberg Academy Fellow, Knut and Alice Wallenberg foundation (2014)

    - IMTAC FoAss position award, chosen as primary candidate (2014)

    - CCFA research award, Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA), NY,  USA (2010)


    Others awards

    - 40 under 40 in Latin American Science, Que Pasa magazine (2014)

    - Best paper award, San Raffaele Institute, Milan, Italy (2010)

    - Best presentation award, RCAI International summer Program 2010, Yokohama,

    Japan (2010)

    Scholarships and travel awards

    - DC2012 Travel Award

    - Keystone symposia scholarship, To attend the Mucosal Immunology Symposia, Vancouver, Canada (2011)

    - RCAI Fellowship, To attend the RCAI International Summer Program, Yokohama, Japan (2010)

    - LACI Scholarship, To attend “The 9th Latin American congress of Immunology”, Chile (2009)

    - EMBO Travelling fellowship, To participate in the EMBO practical course: "Enhancer Detection, Gene Trapping and TILLING in Zebrafish”, Bergen, Norway (2005)

    - Travelling fellowship Leloir Institute. To attend the course “Gene Therapy in Latin America: from the bench to the clinic”, Buenos Aires, Argentina. (2002)

    - ECOS-Conicyt ICM P99-137 Fellowship, To perform research at the laboratory of Dr. Alain Ghysen, Montpellier, France (2002)

    Courses and degrees

    1998, B.S. Bachelor of Science, University of Chile, Santiago

    12/2004, M.Sc.Molecular Biotechnology Engineer University of Chile, Santiago

    10/2007, Ph.D. Biomedical Sciences, Immunology, Under the supervision of Vincenzo Russo, M.D., Universita Vita-Salute, Milan

    Current position

    11/2014 – Present, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet

    11/2015 – Present Faculty member, SciLifeLab

    02/2016 – Present Group Leader, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet

    Previous positions including post doc-appointments

    03/2008 – 02/2012 Postdoctoral Fellow in Mucosal Immunology, MGH, Harvard Medical School, Boston. Under the supervision of J. Rodrigo Mora, M.D.. Ph.D.

    02/2012 – 11/2014 Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Under the supervision of Ramnik J. Xavier, M.D.. Ph.D.

    02/2012 – 11/2014 Assistant Immunologist, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA

    03/2012 – 11/2014 Research Scientist, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA

Research

  • Our lab is seeking to understand the genetic, cellular and environmental contribution towards inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) susceptibility. We have developed a research program that integrates cellular immunology, bioinformatics, and the creation of novel in vivo models to ultimately interrogate the function of IBD-associated polymorphisms as well as to study host-microbiota interactions. In particular, we are trying to understand how deregulation of intestinal immune homeostasis might lead to IBD and trying to discover the function of IBD-risk genes identified by Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS).

    To discover the function of IBD-risk genes, we focus on biological processes that are involved at the initiation (priming of adaptive immune responses), progression (chronic inflammation) or resolution (tissue repair) of IBD. To translate genetic mutations to function, we have developed an innovative pipeline that integrate bioinformatics and animal models, including zebrafish and mouse, to ultimately validate candidate mutations in human tissues by using organoids. We aim to transform the way in which the gene-environment interactions are currently being investigated.

Selected publications

Articles

All other publications

Grants

  • Swedish Research Council for Environment Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning
    1 January 2023 - 31 December 2025
    Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), such as perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and perfluoro hexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) are a widespread class of man-made persistent, mobile and bioaccumulating pollutants that have been detected in humans, wildlife, and the environment. PFAS are high-risk chemicals causing detrimental health effects and have been linked to many metabolic, developmental, and immunological alterations. Among immunological alterations, PFAS has been associated with intestinal inflammatory diseases and poor responses to COVID-19 vaccination. Our recent FORMAS-supported findings indicate that PFOS disrupts the intestinal barrier function leading to exacerbated inflammation (Diaz et al., DMM, 2021). However, how PFAS affects immune responses that may lead to immune-mediated diseases and poor response to vaccination is yet to be fully understood. Here, using experimental models and systems immunology approaches, we will follow up on our studies to understand the immunotoxic effects of PFAS in intestinal autoimmune diseases and vaccine outcomes. This research will drive novel insights on the role of environmental factors in the etiology of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases and response to vaccines and will provide much-needed knowledge to enable citizens and policymakers to make informed decisions to protect the society at risk of high PFAS exposure.
  • Characterization of UC1 and UC2 patients; towards precision medicine in UC
    Crohn's and Colitis Foundation
    1 July 2022 - 30 June 2023
  • Swedish Research Council
    1 December 2021 - 30 November 2025
    Harnessing the power of tissue regeneration to promote resolution in chronic autoimmune diseases such as ulcerative colitis (UC) is a promising approach, as mucosal healing predicts sustained remission. However, uncontrolled regeneration may lead to tumor growth, highlighting the need to identify pathways unlinking regeneration and tumorigenesis. My lab has identified liver X receptor (LXR) pathway whose activation promotes intestinal regeneration while inhibiting tumorigenesis in vivo. How LXR unlinks regeneration and tumorigenesis is not known. Using pharmacological tools and genetically engineered mouse models, we will first investigate the mechanisms how LXR activation promotes mucosal healing and inhibits tumor growth. Additionally, we have stratified UC patients into two novel subtypes namely UC1 and UC2. Since the UC1 profile is associated with increased tissue injury and poor response to therapies, we will test whether the stratification into UC1 and UC2 depends on the degree of tissue damage and capacity to heal. Using single-cell transcriptomics, we will generate an atlas of tissue regeneration in UC1 and UC2 patients and test if organoids from UC1 patients display signs of mucosal healing upon LXR activation. We will complement our studies with organoid-immune/stromal co-culture to test the positively identified pathways (eg LXR). This will pave the way towards personalized medicine in UC by identifying novel targets for boosting safer regeneration in UC patients.
  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2019 - 31 December 2021
  • Swedish Research Council for Environment Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning
    1 January 2017 - 31 December 2019
  • Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
    1 January 2017 - 31 December 2019
  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2015 - 31 December 2018
  • Role of retinoic acid in dendritic cell 'education' in the gut: Implications for tolerogenic mucosa
    Crohn's and Colitis Foundation
    1 July 2010 - 30 June 2013

Employments

  • Professor, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 2025-
  • Principal Researcher, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 2022-2024

Degrees and Education

  • Docent, Karolinska Institutet, 2018

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