Kuka Mirela

Kuka Mirela is an Associate Professor of Pathology at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University and a tenure-track Project Leader in the Division of Immunology, Transplantation and Infectious Diseases (DITID) at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan. She holds a PhD from the University of Siena/Novartis Vaccines and completed postdoctoral training at the NIH (USA) and San Raffaele Scientific Institute. Her research focuses on immune responses to viral infections, B/T cell interactions, and tumor immunology.

Research interests include: (1) Regulation of B cell responses by T cells and innate immune cells during viral infections, (2) Role of inflammatory monocytes in suppressing humoral immunity, (3) B cell-mediated anti-tumor immunity and tumor-associated lymphoid structures. She has pioneered studies on how viral infections modulate T follicular helper cells and discovered novel mechanisms of B cell suppression via inflammatory monocytes.

Recent publications (2023-2025) investigate T cell therapy efficacy improvement via LSD1 inhibition, antibody-independent SARS-CoV-2 protection, and novel TDC cell biology models. Awards include AAI Early Career Grant (2022) and PRIN2020 coordination (2021).

Teaching roles include courses in pathology and immunology for medicine and biomedical programs. Active in professional organizations: Vice-coordinator of the PhD Program in Molecular Medicine, member of AAI, SIICA, and NIBIT. Serves on editorial boards for Frontiers in Immunology and Faculty Opinions.