معرفی
Dr Mario Manresa is an Assistant Professor (Ad Astra Fellow) in the School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science at University College Dublin, working from the Conway Institute. He also served as Principal Investigator in the UCD School of Medicine (2022) and held post-doctoral positions at UC San Diego and Harvard Medical School. His research programme dissects how intestinal fibroblasts transition from homeostatic to inflammatory phenotypes and how these cells dialog with innate immune cells in chronic inflammatory disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE).
Education & Training
- PhD – University College Dublin
- Post-doctoral Fellowship – University of California San Diego, Pediatrics (2018–2021)
- Post-doctoral Fellowship – Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Pathology (2017–2018)
- Post-doctoral Fellowship – University College Dublin, Medicine (2016–2017)
Research Interests
Dr Manresa’s laboratory employs primary human cell culture, co-culture systems, flow cytometry and transcriptomics to understand:
- molecular drivers (TNF-superfamily cytokines such as TWEAK and LIGHT) that switch fibroblasts toward pathogenic phenotypes;
- micro-environmental modulators (hypoxia, extracellular matrix composition) shaping fibroblast behaviour;
- therapeutic restoration of WNT pathway homeostasis to resolve inflammation;
- interactions between inflammatory fibroblasts and monocytes/macrophages that perpetuate mucosal inflammation.
Grant Support & Collaborations
- UCD Conway Institute Director’s Strategic Award – Ad Astra & Emerging Investigators (2022–2024)
- Enterprise Ireland / UCD Project Grant – pancreatic cancer-on-chip model of immune cell infiltration (2023–2025)
Teaching & Mentoring
He coordinates two undergraduate modules—“Cell Signalling” and “Molecular Basis of Disease”—and currently supervises PhD theses, having mentored post-doctoral researcher Carlos Matellan Martin.
Professional Service
Dr Manresa serves as a peer reviewer for Digestive Diseases Week and is multilingual (English, Spanish, Italian), facilitating international collaboration.
