Stockholm university
Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute

Exploring Immune Response Staphylococcal Enterotoxin A - Interview with Clàudia Arasa Cuartiella

On Friday, April 4, 2025, Clàudia Arasa Cuartiella will defend her doctoral thesis, “Unraveling the immune response to Staphylococcal Enterotoxin A – From calm seas to cytokine storms: navigating the superantigenic tide”, at Stockholm University. Her research delves into how Staphylococcal Enterotoxin A (SEA), a virulence factor of Staphylococcus aureus, interacts with the immune system. Before the defence, we have had the opportunity to have a short interview.

What do you examine in your thesis?

I study a virulence factor produced by Staphylococcus aureus, a common skin bacterium. This virulence factor, called SEA, triggers a powerful immune response. My research explores how SEA activates different immune cells and how this response is affected by pregnancy and allergy.

What do you hope your research will contribute to?

S. aureus is a major concern in healthcare settings due to its ability to develop antibiotic resistance. I hope my research contributes to a better understanding of how this bacterium interacts with the immune system, ultimately helping in the fight against S. aureus infections.

What will you do after your defense?

First, I’ll celebrate with my friends and family! Then, I’ll take an art course in Florence. Once things settle down, I plan to look for a job—likely outside academia—to broaden my horizons and work with people from different backgrounds

Can you summarize your findings for those without a background in immunology?

SEA is a toxin that strongly activates the immune system. During my PhD, I found that it can trigger a powerful response in many different immune cells. Interestingly, allergic individuals show a weaker response to SEA compared to non-allergic individuals, but during pregnancy, these allergy-related differences disappear.

The thesis defense will take place on Friday, April 4, 2025, from 09.00 to 12.00 at Vivi Täckholmsalen, Stockholm University.

We warmly invite all those interested to attend. For those who wish to dive deeper into her findings, the full thesis is available in Diva.

By:

Clàudia Arasa Cuartiella

Supervisor:

Professor Eva Sverremark Ekström, MBW, Stockholm University

Opponent:

Matthias Eberl, Division of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, United Kingdom

Commitee:

Nanna Fyhrquist, Institutet för miljömedicin, Karolinska Institutet
Mattias Svensson, Centrum för Infektionsmedicin, Institutionen för Medicin, Karolinska Institutet
Lena Uller, Institutionen för experimentell medicinsk vetenskap, Lunds Universitet

Theme
Life Science - Theme page DNA Research - Theme page
Research subject
Infection and Immunobiology
Research group

Last updated: March 31, 2025

Source: MBW

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