Eduardo Villablanca
Principal Researcher
| Docent
E-mail: eduardo.villablanca@ki.se
Telephone: +46852484308
Visiting address: L8:03, CMM, Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset Solna, 17176 Stockholm
Postal address: K2 Medicin, Solna, K2 Imm o alle 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 &
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 &
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 &- 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)
*Education*
Courses and degrees
1998, B.S. Bachelor in Science, University of Chile, Santiago
12/2004, M.Sc.Molecular Biotechnology Engineer University of Chile, Santiago
*Doctoral degree*
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.
Articles
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Article: JCI INSIGHT. 2023;8(4):e161042
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Article: NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY. 2023;41(2):222-231
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Article: IMMUNITY. 2022;55(12):2336-2351.e12
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Article: CANCER RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS. 2022;2(9):1075-1088
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Article: MUCOSAL IMMUNOLOGY. 2022;15(5):940-951
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Article: MUCOSAL IMMUNOLOGY. 2022;15(3):443-458
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Article: NATURE COMMUNICATIONS. 2022;13(1):828
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Article: MUCOSAL IMMUNOLOGY. 2022;15(2):257-267
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Article: IMMUNITY. 2022;55(1):129-144.e8
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Article: DISEASE MODELS & MECHANISMS. 2021;14(12):dmm049104
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Article: MUCOSAL IMMUNOLOGY. 2021;14(2):411-419
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Article: IMMUNITY. 2021;54(2):259-275.e7
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Article: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS. 2020;10(1):22190
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Article: JOURNAL OF CROHNS & COLITIS. 2020;14(12):1748-1758
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Article: CELL REPORTS. 2020;32(5):107979
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Article: NATURE COMMUNICATIONS. 2020;11(1):2049
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Article: REPRODUCTIVE TOXICOLOGY. 2020;93:163-168
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Article: JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE. 2020;217(2):e20191155
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Article: FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY. 2020;11:591240
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Article: NATURE COMMUNICATIONS. 2019;10(1):2892
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Article: JOURNAL OF AUTOIMMUNITY. 2019;98:86-94
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Article: NATURE COMMUNICATIONS. 2018;9(1):5457
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Article: JOURNAL OF THE ENDOCRINE SOCIETY. 2018;2(12):1363-1380
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Article: DISEASE MODELS & MECHANISMS. 2018;11(11):dmm034876
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Article: MUCOSAL IMMUNOLOGY. 2018;11(3):703-715
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Article: IMMUNITY. 2018;48(1):120-132.e8
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Article: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS. 2018;8(1):154
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Article: PLOS ONE. 2018;13(9):e0204181
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Article: JOURNAL OF ALLERGY AND CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY. 2018;141(1):279-292
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Article: MUCOSAL IMMUNOLOGY. 2017;10(4):884-886
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Article: MOLECULAR & CELLULAR PROTEOMICS. 2017;16(3):502-511
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Article: IMMUNITY. 2016;44(6):1392-1405
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Article: NATURE COMMUNICATIONS. 2015;6:7838
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Article: CELL REPORTS. 2015;11(12):1905-1918
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Article: GUT. 2014;63(9):1431-1440
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Article: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 2014;111(21):7741-7746
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Article: GASTROENTEROLOGY. 2013;145(6):1347-1357
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Article: GASTROENTEROLOGY. 2013;145(3):591-601.e3
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Article: JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE. 2013;210(9):1711-1728
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Article: GASTROENTEROLOGY. 2012;143(3):719-729.e2
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Article: CELL. 2012;149(7):1578-1593
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Article: METHODS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY. 2012;757:411-434
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Article: GASTROENTEROLOGY. 2011;141(6):2109-2118
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Article: JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY. 2011;187(4):1877-1883
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Article: JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY. 2011;187(1):141-150
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Article: GASTROENTEROLOGY. 2011;141(1):176-185
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Article: GASTROENTEROLOGY. 2011;140(6):1776-1784
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Article: BMC DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY. 2010;10:120
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Article: NATURE MEDICINE. 2010;16(1):98-105
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Article: BMC DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY. 2009;9:58
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Article: GASTROENTEROLOGY. 2009;137(1):320-329
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Article: JOURNAL OF LEUKOCYTE BIOLOGY. 2008;84(3):871-879
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Article: JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY. 2007;179(1):357-364
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Article: DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY. 2006;295(2):534-545
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Article: DEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS. 2006;235(6):1578-1588
- Show more
All other publications
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Review: NATURE REVIEWS GASTROENTEROLOGY & HEPATOLOGY. 2022;19(8):493-507
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Review: JOURNAL OF CROHNS & COLITIS. 2021;15(11):1959-1973
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Review: BIOCHEMICAL SOCIETY TRANSACTIONS. 2021;49(5):2371-2380
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Editorial comment: IMMUNITY. 2021;54(6):1097-1099
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Other: GASTROENTEROLOGY. 2020;158(5):1506-1508
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Corrigendum: MUCOSAL IMMUNOLOGY. 2019;12(2):580
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Review: JOURNAL OF AUTOIMMUNITY. 2018;87:50-60
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Review: FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY. 2018;9:3177
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Review: FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY. 2018;9:2667
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Review: NUTRIENTS. 2017;9(1):E68-68
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Review: ANNUAL REVIEW OF IMMUNOLOGY. 2016;34:31-64
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Review: FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY. 2015;6:415
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Editorial comment: ONCOIMMUNOLOGY. 2013;2(2):e22987
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Editorial comment: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY. 2012;42(12):3136-3140
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Review: MOLECULAR ASPECTS OF MEDICINE. 2012;33(1):63-76
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Editorial comment: JOVE-JOURNAL OF VISUALIZED EXPERIMENTS. 2011;(49):2619
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Editorial comment: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY. 2008;38(11):2975-2980
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Review: HISTOLOGY AND HISTOPATHOLOGY. 2008;23(7):897-910
Grants
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Swedish Research Council for Environment Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning1 January 2023 - 31 December 2025
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Characterization of UC1 and UC2 patients; towards precision medicine in UCCrohn's and Colitis Foundation1 July 2022 - 30 June 2023
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Swedish Research Council1 December 2021 - 30 November 2025
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Swedish Research Council1 January 2019 - 31 December 2021
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Swedish Research Council for Environment Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning1 January 2017 - 31 December 2019
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Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft1 January 2017 - 31 December 2019
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Swedish Research Council1 January 2015 - 31 December 2018
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Role of retinoic acid in dendritic cell 'education' in the gut: Implications for tolerogenic mucosaCrohn's and Colitis Foundation1 July 2010 - 30 June 2013
Employments
- Principal Researcher, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 2022-
Degrees and Education
- Docent, Karolinska Institutet, 2018