Luciana Balboa
Associate Researcher Institute of Experimental Medicine (IMEX) - CONICET, Argentina Tel: 54-(11)-4805-5759 ext. 240 Email: luciana_balboa@hotmail.com
VALIDATE Role: Network Associate
Research Keywords: TB Biography: My research interest is to decipher molecular aspects of the human immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the etiological for tuberculosis disease, which controls or contributes to the development and for the chronicity of the infection. My team focuses on the biology of antigen presenting cells: monocytes, dendritic cells and macrophages, specifically on the modulation of their activation programs by the pathogen. Another important personal contribution to the TB field is the characterization of the tuberculous pleural effusions (TB-PE) as a physiologically tissue impacted by the infection as well as being anatomically related to the pulmonary parenchyma. In this regard, we have employed the TB-PE as a physiologically relevant human sample to study the biology of human monocytes, NK cells, B cells, gamma delta (γδ) T cells, neutrophils, macrophages, and foamy macrophages, and our findings have largely contributed to the understanding of the impact of the infection on the function of these immune components.
Related Websites: Department website
Key Publications: Available on PubMed |
