Leonardo Ferreira, Ph.D. Recipient of Jeffrey G. Klein Family Diabetes Fellowship for Study of Engineered Regulatory T Cells

UCSF molecular immunologist Leonardo M.R. Ferreira, Ph.D.,@enhancerleo, a postdoctoral scholar in the laboratories of Dr. Qizhi Tang and Dr. Jeffrey Bluestone at UCSF, has been awarded the 2019 Jeffrey G. Klein Family Diabetes Fellowship to study engineered regulatory T cells (Tregs). 

The proposal, titled “Designing next-generation regulatory T cell therapies for type 1 diabetes”,supports translational immunology research in type 1 diabetes (T1D). Specifically, Dr. Ferreira will investigate design principles, mechanisms, and associated function of chimeric antigen receptor-modified Tregs (CAR Tregs). CAR technology has greatly expedited the generation of antigen-specific T cells for cancer therapy (CAR T cells). A CAR consists of an antigen-binding domain linked to a signaling domain, driving T cell activation upon target recognition. Tregs limit unwanted and excessive immune responses, minimizing damage to healthy tissues. The proposed work will dissect the requirements of repurposing CAR technology to generate antigen-specific Tregs.

The proposal addresses a major gap in understanding CAR Tregs and will form the basis for developing cell-based treatments for T1D and other disorders caused by unwanted immune reactivity.

About Dr. Leonardo Ferreira

Molecular immunologist Leonardo M.R. Ferreira, PhD is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the UCSF Department of Surgery, Transplant Research Laboratory, and in the UCSF Diabetes Center, Sean N. Parker Autoimmune Research Laboratory. Dr. Ferreira completed his PhD at Harvard University, and has since moved to UCSF to complete his postdoctoral training in immunology. Currently, Dr. Ferreira is working towards developing designer cell therapies to establish immune tolerance in autoimmune disease and transplant rejection.