Matteo Iannacone, MD PhD

Research Interests:

Our research program seeks to dissect the complex dynamics of T cell responses to pathogens and tumors. Since it is still beyond the reach of even the most sophisticated in vitro methodology to simulate the complex interplay of physical, cellular, biochemical, and other factors that influence cell behavior in microvessels and interstitial tissues, we make use of intravital microscopy. This technique is complemented by more traditional molecular, cellular and histological approaches, thus characterizing host-virus interactions at the molecular-, single cell- and whole animal-level. In ongoing studies we address the following research topics:

• Functional biology of hepatic CD8+ T cells
• Regulation of antiviral CD4+ T cell polarization
• Spatiotemporal dynamics of CD8+ T cells within liver tumors