معرفی
Luis Barreiro is a Professor in the Department of Medicine-Genetic Medicine at the University of Chicago. His research focuses on understanding how natural selection has shaped human immune responses and how past evolutionary events influence present-day disease susceptibility through multidisciplinary approaches combining genomic, immunological, and evolutionary techniques.
His educational background includes a Master's in Biotechnological Engineering from Lusófona University (2003), a PhD in Population Genetics from the University of Paris VII (2008), and postdoctoral training in Functional Genomics at the University of Chicago (2011).
Dr. Barreiro's research program investigates the genetic basis of immune response variation among individuals and human populations, with particular emphasis on how natural selection has contributed to the evolution of our species. His lab combines cutting-edge genomic techniques with immunological and evolutionary genetic tools to study the phenotypic evolution of immune responses in primates, population variation in transcriptional responses to pathogens, and the mechanisms of innate immune memory. Recent work has examined how historical pandemics like the Black Death have shaped modern immune responses through natural selection.
His publication record demonstrates a clear trajectory from foundational work in population genetics toward increasingly sophisticated integrations of multi-omics approaches to study gene-environment interactions in immune responses. Current research heavily focuses on trained immunity, epigenetic regulation of immune responses, and host-pathogen coevolution, with significant contributions to understanding how past selection events impact present-day disease susceptibility.
Dr. Barreiro currently serves as Principal Investigator on multiple NIH-funded research projects, including R01AI190301 (2025-2030) on "Unraveling the molecular mechanisms of innate immune memory in humans," R01AI182148 (2025-2029) on "iPSC-derived macrophages as a model to study the genetic basis of inter-individual variation in immune responses to pathogens," and R35GM152227 (2024-2029) on "Characterizing the genetic and evolutionary determinants of population variation in transcriptional responses to pathogens."
He leads the Barreiro Lab, which maintains strong collaborations across multiple institutions and disciplines, reflecting the integrative nature of his research program that bridges evolutionary biology, immunology, and genomics to address fundamental questions about human health and disease susceptibility.
