Esteban Ballestar

🔬IMMERGE News!

Our Gene Editing Technologies & Innovation, transfer, and Entrepreneurship workshops kicked off this morning at Ospedale San Raffalle in Milan!

A huge thank you to @dimiccolab.bsky.social and Anastasia Conti for the warm welcome and support in hosting us!💡🧬

👏 Proud moment for #IMMERGE! Our DC7 fellow Hanna Norbäck co-chaired a session at the 2025 DBM Summer Symposium (@unibas.ch) together with Dr. Zaugg. 🌟
A great day of science, collaboration & inspiring talks! 🧪🔬

#DBMSymposium2025 #TeamDBM #AcademicLife #Science #IMMERGE

🌟 #IMMERGE 2025 PI spotlight: Prof. Warnatz on immunodeficiencies!

Exploring T & B cell changes, unique glycosylation, & risk factors for premature mortality:

1️⃣ pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40496855/
2️⃣ pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40090481/
3️⃣ pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40013136/

More highlights coming soon!🚀

We’re thrilled to have contributed to this outstanding work led by @jlsardinalab.bsky.social & Gemma Valcárcel! 🧬💡

This study is a milestone in showing that epigenetic editing can causally shape immune identity and inflammatory responses.

@carrerasijc.bsky.social
#Epigenetics #CRISPR #Immunology

Single-cell ultra-high-throughput multiplexed chromatin and RNA profiling reveals gene regulatory dynamics - Nature Methods This work presents SUM-seq, an ultra-high-throughput method for co-profiling chromatin accessibility and gene expression in single nuclei across multiplexed samples, advancing the study of gene regula...

🧬 New in Nature Methods!

Congrats to IMMERGE PI Judith Zaugg and team on SUM-seq—a new ultra-high-throughput multiplexed sequencing for profiling chromatin accessibility & gene expression in single nuclei. Tested in macrophages, T cells & iPSCs!

📖 Find out more: tinylink.net/a3PNE
#IMMERGE #MSCA

🚀The IMMERGE consortium met in Heidelberg for our 2nd training event & Midterm Review!

DCs joined sessions on:
🔬Epigenetic & Transcriptional Regulation
🧠Leadership & Management

Huge thanks to all involved—and to @embl.org for hosting us!

🌍Next stop: Milan!
👉 immergeproject.eu

#IMMERGE #MSCA

Busy and inspiring week at @embl.org for the @immerge.bsky.social midterm review and two great workshops: #Epigenetics & #TranscriptionalRegulation, and #Leadership & #Management. Grateful for the science, the insights, and everyone’s commitment !

Huge congratulations to Anna Ferreté-Bonastre on a fantastic PhD thesis defense! Excited to see where your science takes you next! #PhDDefense #Epigenetics #Monocytes subsets #AutoimmuneDisease

Huge thanks to all who contributed: @elimereu.bsky.social at @CarrerasIJC.bsky.social, Paulo Pinho e Costa and Bárbara Leal at @ICBAS_UPorto, and @LagunaAriadna at @VHIR_! & more!

The HuMicA and the code used to generate it is available at in7yqx-ricardo-ferreira.shinyapps.io/shinyapp/ and github.com/RicardoMarti...

The integrated single-cell RNA-seq object included 90,716 CNS myeloid cells, mostly microglia, 241 individual samples & 19 input datasets. We describe nine transcriptionally distinct subpopulations, one of which “Lipo.DAM” is expanded in #Alzheimer’s disease and #MultipleSclerosis

The Human Microglia Atlas (HuMicA) unravels changes in disease-associated microglia subsets across neurodegenerative conditions - Nature Communications The Human Microglia Atlas includes 91,716 brain immune cells covering six neurologic pathologies. It characterizes the signatures of nine populations and describes the expansion of GPNMB-high microgli...

🚨 New paper alert 🚨 Our Human Microglia Atlas (HuMicA) characterizes #microglia subpopulations across 6 distinct #neurologic diseases. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Never too late to celebrate a #NewYear with the team #epigenetics & #immunology

Spatial transcriptomic clocks reveal cell proximity effects in brain ageing Nature - A spatially resolved single-cell transcriptomics map of the mouse brain at different ages reveals signatures of ageing, rejuvenation and disease, including ageing effects associated with T...

Thrilled to see this paper out!! 🧪

Spatial transcriptomics of brain aging and 'spatial aging clocks' identify cells that have pro-aging or pro-rejuvenating effects on their neighbors!

Huge CONGRATS to Eric Sun and all authors! Fantastic collaboration with @jameszou.bsky.social!

rdcu.be/d33uQ 🧵

An ultra-early, transient interferon-associated innate immune response associates with protection from SARS-CoV-2 infection despite exposure Our interferon-associated signature of early SARS-CoV-2 infection characterises a subgroup of exposed, uninfected contacts in three independent cohorts who may have successfully aborted infection prior to induction of adaptive immunity. The earlier transient upregulation of signature genes in PCR-negative compared to PCR-positive CHIM volunteers suggests that ultra-early interferon-associated innate immune responses correlate with, and may contribute to, protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Why do some people, despite SARS-CoV-2 exposure, not develop an infection?
An ultra-early interferon response blocks Covid
www.thelancet.com/journals/ebi...
adds to protection from pre-existing, cross-reactive T cells in some people

IFNg stimulation induces SLAMF7 expression on myeloid cells in rheumatoid arthritis. SLAMF7 engagement (with recombinant SLAMF7) then leads to a strong increase in a large number of proinflammatory mediators. SLAMF7+ are found in a number of inflammatory conditions.
1/

In close collaboration with Roser Vento-Tormo & Klaus Warnatz ‘s teams & the support of @CaixaResearch

#COVID19 research #immunodeficiency

🚨 New paper alert 🚨 How do primary immunodeficient patients respond to SARS-CoV-2 🦠 infections? Find out what single-cell omic & spectral cytometry revealed in our latest #NatCommun article
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

😱

Please help us find a candidate! Just one week left! #postdoc position

Interleukin-1α release during necrotic-like cell death generates myeloid-driven immunosuppression that restricts anti-tumor immunity Hänggi et al. investigate how tumor necroptosis regulates anti-tumor immunity and find an unexpected role for interleukin-1α (IL-1α) release by dying cells in promoting tumor growth by driving recruit...

IL-1 is SO RELEVANT in cancer 🔥 IL-1a released from dying tumor cells leads to myeloid cell recruitment and T cell suppression - targeting this pathway boosts efficacy of chemoTx and ICB

Beautiful study by @ruffell-lab.bsky.social lab n Cancer Cell

www.cell.com/cancer-cell/...

x.com/eballestar/s...

🎉 Delighted to announce that our #EPPerMEd Joint Transnational Call 2024 #PROMISE project has been awarded. Joining forces with Grimbacher, Bock, Moschese, VanNieuwenhohe & Schulze ! Mining #InbornErrorsofImmunity for Personalized Therapeutic Strategies in Non-monogenic Inflammatory Disorders

🚨 #Postdoc position 🚨

Join our lab at the #IJC in #Barcelona to lead innovative #Epigenetics & #SingleCell #Omics research on
#SecondaryImmunodeficiency in #Leukemia patients, funded by #Grifols.

institut-josep-carreras-ijc.jobs.personio.com/job/1760907?...

Do not miss the chance to make a difference as #ProjectManager of the #IMMERGE #DoctoralNetwork

institut-josep-carreras-ijc.jobs.personio.com/job/1796149?...