Meet Pedro Gazzinelli-Guimaraes, Principal Investigator
Profile and History
Embarking on my scientific journey at the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Immunology at Rene Rachou Institute – Fiocruz, Brazil, during my undergrad in Biomedicine, I laid the foundation for a career dedicated to understanding the intricate interplay between parasitic infections, immune responses, and allergic diseases.
My academic interests led me to pursue a master’s degree in Parasitology at the Biological Sciences Institute (ICB) of the Federal University of Minas Gerais – UFMG, Brazil. I earned my PhD in Parasitology from the same institution, augmented by invaluable one-year pre-doctoral training at the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases (LPD) within the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA.
Seeking to broaden my perspective and expertise, I engaged in consulting training at the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (SCI) at Imperial College London, UK, where I assumed the role of project manager/supervisor for the Schistosomiasis Consortium for Operational Research and Evaluation (SCORE) project in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, managed by the University of Georgia, USA.
These experiences enhanced my skills in coordinating public health initiatives and operational research in endemic regions of Africa. Following this enriching experience, I furthered my research endeavors as a post-doctoral fellow at the NIH’s Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases (LPD) under the mentorship of Dr. Thomas Nutman. Subsequently, I transitioned to a Research Fellow position, and in late 2021, I was appointed Staff Scientist, assuming leadership of a research program dedicated to elucidating the intricate relationship between helminth infections and allergic inflammation, employing both human cohorts and experimental models. Recently, in April 2024, I was honored to be appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, further solidifying my commitment to advancing scientific inquiry and education in the field.
My research program is centered on unraveling the mechanisms underlying the immune response to helminth parasitic infections and the pathogenesis of allergic diseases. Specifically, I am intrigued by the plasticity and heterogeneity of circulating peripheral and tissue-resident effector Th2 cells driven by helminth antigens and allergens, as well as their role in mediating tissue Type-2-mediated inflammation in both murine models and human subjects. Through these investigations, our Lab aim to identify potential targets for the development of selective immunotherapy to mitigate chronic helminth infections and allergic inflammation. Key areas of interest within my research portfolio encompass the identification of biomarkers for helminth antigen-specific T cells, elucidation of immunophenotypic and transcriptomic signatures of Th2 cells, exploration of mechanisms governing human and experimental type-2 immune responses elicited by helminths, investigation of the impact of helminth infections on immune regulation in allergic individuals, examination of co-infection dynamics, and the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of diverse strategies for mass drug administration programs and diagnostic development aimed at controlling Neglected Tropical Diseases in Africa.