Research

The research interests of our group are focused on delineating the molecular and cellular mechanisms that govern the function of immune regulatory networks thereby restraining aberrant immune responses in cancer and autoimmunity and blocking the effect of immunotherapy (Grigoriou et al Cancer Immunology Research 2021, Alissafi et al Cell Metabolism 2020, Alissafi et al JCI 2018, Alissafi et al JCI 2017). Our ultimate goal is the translation of these basic immunological mechanisms into targeted therapies and development of biomarkers.

Our research has been recently funded by the European Research Council (RegSign ERC STG2020) and the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (AUTOREG 2nd PostDoc Grant).

Focusing on the interplay of DCs and Tregs, we wish to delineate which mechanisms of their function are defective during autoimmune diseases in order to develop targeted therapeutic strategies with the goal of restoring immune tolerance. Οur future research aims to apply lessons learned from regulatory networks in autoimmunity to manage adverse toxicities in cancer patients treated with immunotherapy.