4^th February at 14:00-15:00
Online event
in Zoom

Dr. Carlos Rogério Figueiredo, University of Turku
New Mechanisms of Immunosuppression in Melanoma: Implications for Rational Immunotherapy Innovation

Host: Professor Riitta Lahesmaa ( rilahes@utu.fi )

Link to the online seminar: https://utu.zoom.us/j/68365123447

Immunology seminar series is jointly organised by the Finnish Society for Immunology, InFLAMES Flagship and Turku Bioscience. For further information contact Anne Lahdenperä (ankahy@utu.fi) or Riitta Lahesmaa (rilahes@utu.fi), University of Turku.

Dr. Carlos Rogério Figueiredo is a Principal Investigator and Docent of Immunology at the University of Turku, with a focus on cancer immunology and resistance to immunotherapy. Rogerio did his PhD in Immunology & Microbiology in the Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil, in 2015. Postdoctoral Fellowships Rogerio did in translational oncology in the University of Liverpool and in Immuno-oncology in the University of Turku. His research explores the molecular mechanisms underlying immunosuppression, leading to cold tumor formation and poor responses to current immunotherapies. As the leader of the Medical Immuno-Oncology Research Group (MIORG) in Finland, he conducts integrative multi-omic studies to identify novel biomarkers to advance prognostication tools and evaluate their functional roles in antitumor immune responses. This work supports evidence-based insights for rational immunotherapy innovation, with a primary focus on cutaneous and ocular melanoma models. Rogerio is the winner of Scandinavian Society for Immunology (SSI) Young Investigator Award year 2024.

Selected publications

Figueiredo CR, Azevedo RA, Mousdell S, Resende-Lara PT, Ireland L, Santos A, Girola N, Cunha RLOR, Schmid MC, Polonelli L, Travassos LR, Mielgo A. Blockade of MIF-CD74 Signalling on Macrophages and Dendritic Cells Restores the Antitumour Immune Response Against Metastatic Melanoma. Front Immunol. 2018 May 23;9:1132. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.01132.

Figueiredo CR, Kalirai H, Sacco JJ, Azevedo RA, Duckworth A, Slupsky JR, Coulson JM, Coupland SE. Loss of BAP1 expression is associated with an immunosuppressive microenvironment in uveal melanoma, with implications for immunotherapy development. J Pathol. 2020 Apr;250(4):420-439. doi: 10.1002/path.5384.

Matareed M, Maranou E, Koskela SA, Mehmood A, Kalirai H, Coupland SE, Figueiredo CR.   Novel prognostication biomarker adipophilin reveals a metabolic shift in uveal melanoma and new therapeutic opportunities. J Pathol. 2023 Jun;260(2):203-221. doi: 10.1002/path.6076.

Wang MM, Coupland SE, Aittokallio T, Figueiredo CR. Resistance to immune checkpoint therapies by tumour-induced T-cell desertification and exclusion: key mechanisms, prognostication and new therapeutic opportunities. Br J Cancer. 2023 Oct;129(8):1212-1224. doi: 10.1038/s41416-023-02361-4.

Langguth M, Maranou E, Koskela SA, Elenius O, Kallionpää RE, Birkman EM, Pulkkinen OI, Sundvall M, Salmi M, Figueiredo CR.  TIMP-1 is an activator of MHC-I expression in myeloid dendritic cells with implications for tumor immunogenicity. Genes Immun. 2024 Jun;25(3):188-200. doi: 10.1038/s41435-024-00274-7.