20022024

Research activity per year

Personal profile

Biography

Professor Mauro graduated from the University of Naples “Federico II” in Italy with a combined 5-year BSc and MSc degree in Medical Biotechnology in 2002 followed by a PhD in Molecular Oncology and Endocrinology in 2007.

During his PhD (2002-07) he studied the pro-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic response controlled by the NF-kB family of transcription factors. In these studies he discovered novel mechanisms of activation of NF-kB downstream of TNF receptors and upon endoplasmic reticulum stress as well as the contribution of NF-kB activity to thyroid tumourigenesis (Biochem Biophys Res Comm 2003, J Biol Chem 2004, J Biol Chem 2006a, J Biol Chem 2006b, J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2008).

During his post-doc (2007-11) – supported in part by a Foundation Fellowship awarded from the Italian Association for Cancer Research – he worked both at the University of Chicago in the USA and Imperial College London at the identification of the molecular mechanisms linking inflammation and metabolism in the adaptive immune system and in cancer (Proc Natl Acad Sci 2010, Nat Cell Biol 2011).

In 2011 he moved to the William Harvey Research Institute at the Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry at Queen Mary, University of London, where he focused on the investigation of the metabolic control of immune cell effector functions and the implications of the metabolic dependence of immune responses in inflammatory conditions. Through this work he obtained a prestigious Intermediate Basic Science Research Fellowship from the British Heart Foundation in 2012 (until 2019) alongside other competitive research grants, and published a number of papers in the field (e.g., Mol Cell Proteomics 2014, PLoS Biol 2015, Trends Biochem Sci 2016, Eur J Immunol 2016, Cell Metab 2017, Nat Commun 2017, Immunity 2017).

In 2018 he joined the Institute of Inflammation and Ageing at the University of Birmingham as a Professorial Research Fellow in Metabolism and Inflammation to lead a group of scientists working on basic and translational aspects of immunometabolism (e.g. Cardiov Res 2019, Cell Metab 2019, Brit J Pharmacol 2020, Nat Rev Immunol 2020, Biochem Pharmacol 2022, iScience 2022, Trends Endocr Metab 2022, Brit J Pharmacol 2022, Clin Transl Med 2023).

In 2020, he was promoted to Professor of Metabolism and Inflammation.

In 2022, he was awarded a prestigious British Heart Foundation Senior Basic Science Research Fellowship.

Research interests

The research in the Mauro’s group focuses on the interconnections between metabolic and inflammatory pathways and how systemic and cellular metabolic alterations in diseases with an inflammatory component lead to aberrant immune cell responses, which favour both the establishment and the propagation of inflammation. In particular, they investigate the mechanisms of metabolic control of T cell-mediated immune responses, including migration, differentiation and cytokine production in physiology and under metabolic stress.

One key area of their research is how small metabolites, like lactate, which accumulates locally in the inflamed tissue or systemically during acute and chronic inflammation, can impact the fate of the immune-inflammatory response via induction of  intracellular metabolic rewiring with immediate effect on broad range human diseases.

Another important aspect of their research is how fatty acids can impact the outcomes of an immune response, with repercussions on obesity-related diseases.

Overall, their studies indicate that interfering with metabolic pathways (i.e., lipid, glucose and oxidative metabolism) alters immune cell effector functions and can be exploited for therapy.

Their main research outputs are:

  • 69 total publications: (Google Scholar: h-index=36; citations=5,310).
  • Best research articles: 1) Nat Cell Biol 2011 (1st author); 2) Immunity 2015 (co-author); 3) Cell Metab 2017 (1st, corresponding and lead author); 4) Cell Metab 2019 (last author); 5) Immunity 2019 (co-author); 6) Nat Immunol in press (2nd last author).
  • Best 2nd tier research articles: 1) PNAS 2010 (co-1st author): 2) PNAS 2013 (3rd author); 3) PNAS 2015 (2nd last author); 4) Plos Biol 2015 (last author); 5) PNAS 2016 (co-author); 6) Nat Commun 2017 (2nd last and corresponding author); 7) Nat Commun 2020 (co-author); 8) Clin Transl Med 2023 (3rd last author).
  • Best senior author research articles: 1) Plos Biol 2015 (last author); 2) Cell Metab 2017 (1st, corresponding and lead author); 3) Nat Commun 2017 (2nd last and corresponding author); 4) Cell Metab 2019 (last author); 5) Cardiov Res 2019 (last author); 6) Biochem Pharmacol 2022 (joint last author); 7) Nat Immunol in press (2nd last author).
  • Best review/commentary articles: 1) Trends Biochem Sci 2016 (last author); 2) Nat Rev Immunol 2021 (last author); 3) Trends Edocrinol Metab 2022 (last author); 4) Nat Immunol 2023 (last author); 5) Nat Rev Cardiol in press (2nd author); 6) Trends Biochem Sci in preparation (last author); 7) Immunity in preparation (last author).

Qualifications

  • Abilitazione Scientifica Nazionale (ASN) a Professore di I Fascia (Italy), 2023
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK), 2016
  • PhD in Molecular Oncology and Endocrinology, University of Naples Federico II (Italy), 2007
  • Medical Biotechnology Degree (combined 5 year BSc and MSc programme, 1st class Honours), University of Naples Federico II (Italy), 2002
  • Classical Humanities High School Diploma, Virgilio Institute, Lecce (Italy), 1997

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being

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