Monaco group

I am currently working as a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology at the University of Oxford. I completed a DPhil in Molecular and Cellular Medicine at the University of Oxford in 2019, after obtaining a Master’s degree in Biomedicine from University College London. My DPhil and postdoctoral project focussed on understanding how a C-type lectin receptor CLEC4A2 directs macrophages towards a protective function in atherosclerosis. In this study, I identified CLEC4A2 as a regulator of vascular macrophage homeostasis, restraining inflammation and facilitating cholesterol efflux during atherogenesis. As part of my project, I generated a comprehensive atlas of vascular immune cells in atherosclerotic mice using mass cytometry and single cell RNA sequencing.

I was awarded a Novo Nordisk Postdoctoral Research Fellowship to pursue a new project in September 2021, under the supervision of Professor Claudia Monaco (Kennedy Institute), Dr Alexey Epanchintsev (Novo Nordisk Research Centre Oxford), Professor Irina Udalova (Kennedy Institute) and Professor Paul Riley (Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics/Institute of Developmental and Regenerative Medicine). My project aims to investigate the new molecular mechanisms of vascular macrophages and their interactions with vascular cells to alleviate cardiometabolic diseases. Using single-cell transcriptomic data of immune cells from human and murine atherosclerotic tissues, I will identify novel candidate molecules that define homeostatic functions of macrophages. The validation of the targets will be performed using iPSC-derived macrophages, human vascular tissues and in vivo mouse models.