Luis Barreiro

Luis Barreiro is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine at the Université de Montréal, affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine. He leads a research group at the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center, focusing on the evolution of immune responses across species and human populations. His work integrates genomic, immunological, and evolutionary tools to study genetic factors influencing susceptibility to infectious diseases and the phenotypic evolution of immune systems in primates.

Education:

• Bachelor's and Master's in Biotechnology Engineering, Universidade Lusófona (Portugal)
• PhD in Human Population Genetics, Université Paris VII (France)
• Postdoctoral Fellowship in Functional Genomics, University of Chicago (USA)

Research Interests:

Barreiro’s lab investigates how natural selection shapes immune responses, with a focus on:

• Genetic determinants of susceptibility to infections
• Evolutionary differences in immune responses between humans and primates
• Impact of ancestry and social status on immune regulation

Awards & Grants:

• Recipient of the HFSP Career Development Award (2012)
• Funding from Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), NIH, and others
• Hold the Canada Research Chair in Functional and Evolutionary Genomics of the Immune System

Labs & Collaborations: His lab collaborates internationally, including with the National Institutes of Health (USA) and the Tung Lab at Duke University, to advance understanding of immune mechanisms and their evolutionary basis.