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The team studies the effect of ageing on the immune system and analyses the role played by the immune system in diseases such as post COVID-19 condition

Ageing and the immune system

Ageing is responsible for physiological dysfunctions in different tissues, organs, and systems that lead to a decline in immune efficacy, resulting in increased vulnerability to infectious diseases, diminished responses to vaccination, and major susceptibility to age-related inflammatory diseases. TRIA focuses on translational studies to investigate the remodelling of the immune system during the process of ageing in the context of infectious diseases.

Thus, the group focuses on two main lines of research:

  • Inflammageing and immunosenescence during HIV infection. Despite the great advances induced by ART, ageing-associated morbidities and age-related conditions are more prevalent in the HIV-infected population. The group studies this accelerated ageing in order to characterize immune dysfunction in ART-treated individuals and so improve the quality of life of people living with HIV. To determine treatment targets and design new interventions that improve patient management and quality of life, the group works in close collaboration with the Infectious Diseases Service of the Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital.

  • Immune responses to the COVID-19 vaccine in older individuals. While SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is the most effective protection for older adults against severe COVID-19, primary vaccine responses are less effective. TRIA aims to characterize SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-induced immune responses to adapt the vaccination calendar to the immune needs of the older population.

 

Understanding post COVID-19 condition

Post COVID-19 condition affect around 10% of people infected with SARS-CoV-2, who continue to experience, in the months after infection, persistent and varying symptoms ranging in severity from mild to debilitating. To identify diagnostic biomarkers and define new treatment interventions, the group analyses multifactorial mechanisms in a clinical cohort currently consisting of around 400 people with post COVID-19 condition. With the Infectious Diseases Service of the Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital and the Fight Infections Foundation, the group coordinates a Post COVID-19 Unit in a collaboration that will enable findings to be transferred to the clinic.

 

Marta Massanella Luna
Principal investigator
Marta Massanella Luna
Marta Massanella graduated in Biology at the University Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona) and completed her PhD in Biomedicine at IrsiCaixa under the supervision of Dr. Julià Blanco in 2012. During her PhD,…
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