Francisco J. Quintana (born April 30, 1974) is an Argentinean-American immunologist and

neuroscientist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist who has specialised knowledge in neuroscience, a branch of biology that deals with the physiology, biochemistry, psychology, anatomy and molecular biology of neurons, Biological neural network, n ...

, and Professor of

Neurology Neurology (from el, wikt:νεῦρον, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix wikt:-logia, -logia, "study of") is the branch of specialty (medicine), medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of co ...

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

. His lab studies interactions between the

immune system The immune system is a network of biological processes that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to parasitic worms, as well as cancer cells and objects such as wood splinte ...

and

nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its actions and sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body. The nervous system detects environmental changes th ...

. He is best known for his work on the regulation of inflammation by

astrocyte Astrocytes (from Ancient Greek , , "star" + , , "cavity", "cell"), also known collectively as astroglia, are characteristic star-shaped glial cells in the brain and spinal cord. They perform many functions, including biochemical control of endo ...

s, and by the study of the role of the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor in the regulation of the immune response by

pollutant A pollutant or novel entity is a substance or energy introduced into the environment that has undesired effects, or adversely affects the usefulness of a resource. These can be both naturally forming (i.e. minerals or extracted compounds like oi ...

s, the microbial flora and

metabolism Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cell ...

. Dr. Quintana's research has implications for our understanding of the

pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

of multiple inflammatory disorders including

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

Type 1 diabetes Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that originates when cells that make insulin (beta cells) are destroyed by the immune system. Insulin is a hormone required for the cells to use blood sugar for ...

and

Inflammatory Bowel Disease Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of inflammation, inflammatory conditions of the colon (anatomy), colon and small intestine, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis being the principal types. Crohn's disease affects the small intestine a ...

, and also

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...

s and

infectious diseases An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

. His work has also led to the development of novel therapeutic interventions, and novel techniques for the investigation of regulatory mechanisms involved in the control of inflammation, including RABID-seq (Clark et al, Science 2021), FIND-seq (Clark et al, Nature 2023) and SPEAC-seq (Wheeler et al, Science 2023).

Education and career

Dr. Quintana received his Diploma in

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

from the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one o ...

. He received his PhD in

Immunology Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see there ...

from the

Weizmann Institute of Science The Weizmann Institute of Science ( he, מכון ויצמן למדע ''Machon Vaitzman LeMada'') is a public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, 14 years before the State of Israel. It differs from other Israeli unive ...

in 2004, where he was advised by Dr. Irun Cohen. Dr. Quintana joined

Brigham and Women's Hospital Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is the second largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts Gener ...

and Harvard Medical School as a postdoctoral fellow in 2005 where he was advised by Dr. Howard L. Weiner. In 2018, Dr. Quintana was appointed Professor of Neurology with tenure. Dr. Quintana is also an Associate Member of the

Broad Institute The Eli and Edythe L. Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard (IPA: , pronunciation respelling: ), often referred to as the Broad Institute, is a biomedical and genomic research center located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U ...

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the mo ...

and Harvard. Dr. Quintana is the Indirawati Kuchroo and Charlotte Weiner Distinguished Professor of Neuroimmunology (2021). Dr. Quintana is the president of International Society of Neuroimmunology (2021–2023).

Research

Quintana's research investigates signaling pathways that control the immune response and

neurodegeneration A neurodegenerative disease is caused by the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons, in the process known as neurodegeneration. Such neuronal damage may ultimately involve cell death. Neurodegenerative diseases include amyotrophic ...

, with the ultimate goal of identifying novel therapeutic targets and

biomarker In biomedical contexts, a biomarker, or biological marker, is a measurable indicator of some biological state or condition. Biomarkers are often measured and evaluated using blood, urine, or soft tissues to examine normal biological processes, ...

s for immune-mediated disorders. Dr. Quintana has published over 230 peer reviewed articles and book chapters. Dr. Quintana's work identified important roles for the transcription factor AHR in the control of inflammation driven adaptive and innate immune cells. His work also identified important mechanisms that control neurodegeneration and provided the basis for the development of four

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

companies.

Awards

Dr. Quintana has received multiple awards including the Lady Anne Chain Prize for Academic and Scientific Achievements (2004), the Junior Investigator Award from the National MS Society for Outstanding Research (2008), the NIH Pathway to Independence Award (2009), the Nature Publications Award for Outstanding Research Achievements (2009), the Harry Weaver Research Scholar Award (2014), the Harvard Medical School Young Mentor Award (2016), the Milestone in MS Research Award (2017), the American Association of Immunologists-BD Biosciences Investigator Award (2019), ISI Most Highly Cited List since 2019, the Barancik Prize for Innovation in MS Research (2020) and the Raices Award from the Republic of Argentina. Dr. Quintana is the Indirawati Kuchroo and Charlotte Weiner Distinguished Professor of Neuroimmunology (2021).

Highlighted Articles

1. Quintana, F.J., Gerber, D., Kent, S.C., Cohen, I.R. & Shai, Y. HIV-1 fusion peptide targets the TCR and inhibits antigen-specific T cell activation. ''Journal of Clinical Investigation,'' 115(8), 2149-2158 (2005). 2. Quintana, F.J., Basso, A.S., Iglesias, A.H., Korn, T., Farez, M.F., Bettelli, E., Caccamo, M., Oukka, M. & Weiner, H.L. Control of T(reg) and T(H)17 cell differentiation by the aryl hydrocarbon receptor. ''Nature,'' 453(7191), 65-71 (2008). 3. *Farez, M.F., *Quintana F.J., Gandhi, R., Izquierdo, G., Lucas, M. & Weiner, H.L. TLR2 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 promote central nervous system neuroinflammation in progressive EAE. ''Nature Immunology,'' 10(9), 958-964 (2009). Corresponding author. 4. Apetoh, L., Quintana, F. J., Pot, C., Joller, N., Xiao, S., Kumar, D., Burns, E. J., Sherr, D. H., Weiner, H. L. & Kuchroo, V. K. (2010). The aryl hydrocarbon receptor interacts with c-Maf to promote the differentiation of type 1 regulatory T cells induced by IL-27. ''Nature Immunology,'' ''11''(9), 854–861 (2010). 5. Gandhi R., Kumar D., Burns E.J., Nadeau M., Dake B., Laroni A., Kozoriz D., Weiner H.L. & Quintana F.J. Aryl hydrocarbon receptor activation induces human Tr1-like and Foxp3+ Treg cells. ''Nature Immunology,'' 11(9), 846-53 (2010). 6. Yeste, A., Nadeau, M., Burns, E.J., Weiner, H.L. & Quintana, F.J. Nanoparticle-mediated codelivery of myelin antigen and a tolerogenic small molecule suppresses EAE. ''Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A,'' 109(28), 11270-5 (2012). 7. *Quintana, F.J., *Jin, H., Burns, E.J., Nadeau, M., Yeste, A., Kumar, D., Rangachari, M., Zhu, C., Xiao, S., Seavitt, J., Georgopoulos, K. & Kuchroo, V.K. Aiolos promotes T(H)17 differentiation by directly silencing Il2 expression. ''Nature Immunology,'' 13(8), 770-777 (2012). 8. Mascanfroni, I.D., Yeste, A., Vieira, S.M., Burns, E.J., Patel, B., Sloma, I., Wu, Y., Mayo, L., Efroni, S., Kuchroo, V.K., Robson, S.C. & Quintana, F.J. IL-27 acts on dendritic cells to suppress the T-cell response and autoimmunity by inducing ENTPD1 (CD39) expression. ''Nature Immunology,'' 14(10), 1054-1063 (2013). 9. Yeste, A., Mascanfroni, I.D., Nadeau, M., Burns, E.J., Tukpah, A.M., Santiago, A., Wu, C., Patel, B., Kumar, D. & Quintana, F.J. IL-21 induces IL-22 production in CD4+ T cells. ''Nature Communications,'' 5, 3753 (2014). 10. Mayo L, Trauger S.A., Blain M., Nadeau M., Patel B., Alvarez J.I., Mascanfroni I.D., Yeste A., Kivisäkk P., Kallas K., Ellezam B., Bakshi R., Prat A., Antel J.P., Weiner H.L. & Quintana F.J. Regulation of astrocyte activation by glycolipids drives chronic CNS inflammation. ''Nature Medicine,'' 20(10), 1147-1156 (2014). 11. Mascanfroni ID, Takenaka M.C., Yeste A., Patel B., Wu Y., Kenison J., Siddiqui S., Basso A.S., Otterbein L.E., Pardoll D.M., Pan F., Priel A., Clish C.B., Robson S.C. & Quintana F.J. Metabolic control of Tr1 cell differentiation by AHR and HIF1-α. ''Nature Medicine,'' 21(6), 638-646 (2015). 12. Farez, M.F., Mascanfroni, I.D., Méndez-Huergo, S., Yeste, A., Murugaiyan, G., Garo, L.P., Balbuena Aguirre, M.E., Patel, B., Ysrraelit, M.C., Zhu, C., Kuchroo, V.K., Rabinovich, G.A., *Quintana, F.J. & *Correale, J. Melatonin contributes to the seasonality of multiple sclerosis relapses. ''Cell,'' 162(6):1338-1352 (2015). Corresponding and lead author. 13. Yeste, A., Takenaka, M.C., Mascanfroni, I.D., Nadeau, M., Kenison, J.E., Patel, B., Tukpah, A.M., Babon, J.A., DeNicola, M., Kent, S.C., Pozo, D., & Quintana, F.J. (2016). Tolerogenic nanoparticles inhibit T cell-mediated autoimmunity through SOCS2. ''Science signaling'', ''9''(433), ra61 (2016). 14. Rothhammer, V., Mascanfroni, I.D., Bunse, L., Takenaka, M.C., Kenison, J.E., Mayo, L., Chao, C.C., Patel, B., Yan, R., Blain, M., Alvarez, J.I., Kébir, H., Anandasabapathy, N., Izquierdo, G., Jung, S., Obholzer, N., Pochet, N., Clish, C.B., Prinz, M., Prat, A., Antel, J. & Quintana, F.J. Type I interferons and microbial metabolites of tryptophan modulate astrocyte activity and central nervous system inflammation via the aryl hydrocarbon receptor. ''Nature medicine'', ''22''(6), 586–597 (2016). 15. Rothhammer V., Borucki D.M., Tjon E.C., Takenaka M.C., Chao C.C., Ardura-Fabregat A., de Lima K.A., Gutiérrez-Vázquez C., Hewson P., Staszewski O., Blain M., Healy L., Neziraj T., Borio M., Wheeler M., Dragin L.L., Laplaud D.A., Antel J., Alvarez J.I., Prinz M. & Quintana F.J. Microglial control of astrocytes in response to microbial metabolites. ''Nature'', 557, 724-728 (2018). 16. Takenaka M.C., Gabriely G., Rothhammer V., Mascanfroni I.D., Wheeler M.A., Chao C.C., Gutiérrez-Vázquez C., Kenison J., Tjon E.C., Barroso A., Vandeventer T., Alves de Lima K., Rothweiler S., Ghannam S., Zandee S., Healy L., Sherr D., Farez M. F., Pratt A., Antel J., Reardon D.A., Zhang H., Robson S.C., Getz G., Weiner H.L. & Quintana F.J. Control of tumor-associated macrophages and T-cells in glioblastoma via AHR and CD39. ''Nature Neuroscience,'' 22(5), 729-740 (2019). 17. Wheeler M.A., Jaronen M., Covacu R., Zandee S.E.J., Scalisi G., Rothhammer V., Tjon E.C., Chao C.C., Kenison J.E., Blain M., Rao V.T.S., Hewson P., Barroso A., Gutiérrez-Vázquez C., Prat A., Antel J.P., Hauser R. & Quintana F.J. Environmental control of astrocyte pathogenic activities in CNS inflammation. ''Cell,'' 176(3), 581-596 (2019). 18. Chao C.C., Gutiérrez-Vázquez C., Rothhammer V., Mayo L., Wheeler M.A., Tjon E.C., Zandee S.E.J., Blain M., Alves de Lima K., Takenaka M.C., Pacheco J.A., Hewson P., Liu L., Sanmarco L.M., Borucki D.M., Lipof G.Z., Trauger S.A., Clish C., Antel J., Prat A. & Quintana F.J. Metabolic control of astrocyte pathogenic activity via cPLA2-MAVS. ''Cell,'' 179(7), 1483-1498 (2019). 19. Wheeler, M. A., Clark, I.C., Tjon, E. C., Li, Z., Zandee, S.E.J., Couturier, C.P., Watson, B.R., Scalisi, G., Alkwai, S., Rothhammer, V., Rotem, A., Heyman, J.A., Thaploo, S., Sanmarco, L.M., Ragoussis, J., Weitz, D. A., Petrecca, K., Moffitt, J.R., Becher, B., Antel, J.P., Prat, A. & Quintana, F.J. (2020). MAFG-driven astrocytes promote CNS inflammation. ''Nature'', ''578''(7796), 593–599 (2020). 20. Kenison, J.E., Jhaveri, A., Li, Z., Khadse, N., Tjon, E., Tezza, S., Nowakowska, D., Plasencia, A., Stanton, V.P., Jr., Sherr, D.H., & Quintana, F.J. Tolerogenic nanoparticles suppress central nervous system inflammation. ''Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A,'' ''117(50)'', 32017-32028 (2020). 21. Giovannoni F., Bosch I., Polonio M.C., Torti M.F., Wheeler M.A., Li Z., Romorini L., Rodriguez Varela M.S., Rothhammer V., Barroso A., Tjon E. C., Sanmarco L. M., Takenaka M.C, Modaresi S., Gutiérrez-Vázquez C., Ghabdan Zanluqui N., Barreto dos Santos N., Demarchi Munhoz C., Wang Z., Damonte E.B., Sherr D., Gehrke L., Schatzmann Peron J.P., Garcia C.G. & Quintana F.J. AHR is a Zika virus host factor and a candidate target for antiviral therapy. ''Nature Neuroscience'', 23(8), 939-951 (2020). 22. Wheeler M.A., Clark I.C., Tjon E.C., Li Z., Zandee S.E.J., Couturier C.P., Watson B.R., Scalisi G., Alkwai S., Rothhammer V., Rotem A., Heyman J.A., Thaploo S., Sanmarco L.M., Ragoussis J., Weitz D., Petrecca K., Moffitt J.R., Becher B., Antel J.P., Prat A. & Quintana F.J. Genomic control of astrocytes in multiple sclerosis. ''Nature'', 578, 593-599 (2020). 23. Scott, B. M., Gutiérrez-Vázquez, C., Sanmarco, L. M., da Silva Pereira, J. A., Li, Z., Plasencia, A., Hewson, P., Cox, L. M., O'Brien, M., Chen, S. K., Moraes-Vieira, P. M., Chang, B. S. W., Peisajovich, S. G., & Quintana, F. J. (2021). Self-tunable engineered yeast probiotics for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. ''Nature Medicine'', ''27''(7), 1212–1222 (2021). 24. Sanmarco, L. M., Wheeler, M. A., Gutiérrez-Vázquez, C., Polonio, C. M., Linnerbauer, M., Pinho-Ribeiro, F. A., Li, Z., Giovannoni, F., Batterman, K. V., Scalisi, G., Zandee, S., Heck, E. S., Alsuwailm, M., Rosene, D. L., Becher, B., Chiu, I. M., Prat, A. & Quintana, F.J. Gut-licensed IFNγ+ NK cells drive LAMP1+TRAIL+ anti-inflammatory astrocytes. ''Nature'', ''590''(7846), 473–479 (2021). 25. Clark, I. C., Gutiérrez-Vázquez, C., Wheeler, M.A., Li, Z., Rothhammer, V., Linnerbauer, M., Sanmarco, L.M., Guo, L., Blain, M., Zandee, S., Chao, C.C., Batterman, K.V., Schwabenland, M., Lotfy, P., Tejeda-Velarde, A., Hewson, P., Manganeli Polonio, C., Shultis, M.W., Salem, Y., Tjon, E.C., Fonseca-Castro, P.H., Borucki, D.M., Alves de Lima, K., Plasencia, A., Abate, A.R., Rosene, D.L., Hodgetts, K.J., Prinz, M., Antel, J.P., Prat, A. & Quintana, F.J. Barcoded viral tracing of single-cell interactions in central nervous system inflammation. ''Science'', ''372''(6540), (2021). 26. Sanmarco L.M., Chao C.C., Wang Y.C., Kenison J.E., Li Z., Rone J.M., Rejano-Gordillo C.M., Polonio C.M., Gutierrez-Vazquez C., Piester G., Plasencia A., Li L., Giovannoni F., Lee H.G., Faust Akl C., Wheeler M.A., Mascanfroni I., Jaronen M., Alsuwailm M., Hewson P., Yeste A., Andersen B.M., Franks D.G., Huang C.J., Ekwudo M., Tjon E.C., Rothhammer V., Takenaka M., de Lima K.A., Linnerbauer M., Guo L., Covacu R., Queva H., Fonseca-Castro P.H., Bladi M.A., Cox L.M., Hodgetts K.J., Hahn M.E., Mildner A., Korzenik J., Hauser R., Snapper S.B. & Quintana, F. J. (2022). Identification of environmental factors that promote intestinal inflammation. ''Nature'', ''611''(7937), 801–809 (2022). 27. Clark I.C., Mudvari P., Thaploo S., Smith S., Abu-Laban M., Hamouda M., Theberge M., Shah S., Ko S.H., Pérez L., Bunis D.G., Lee J.S., Kilam D., Zakaria S., Choi S., Darko S., Henry A.R., Wheeler M.A., Hoh R., Butrus S., Deeks S.G., Quintana F.J., Douek D.C., Abate A.R. & Boritz E.A. (2023). HIV silencing and cell survival signatures in infected T cell reservoirs. ''Nature'', ''614''(7947), 318–325 (2023). 28. Clark I.C., Wheeler M.A., Lee H.G., Li Z., Sanmarco L.M., Thaploo S., Polonio C.M., Shin S.W., Scalisi G., Henry A.R., Rone J.M., Giovannoni F., Charabati M., Akl C.F., Aleman D.M., Zandee S.E.J., Prat A., Douek D.C., Boritz E.A., Quintana F.J., Abate A.R. (2023). Identification of astrocyte regulators by nucleic acid cytometry. ''Nature'', ''614''(7947), 326–333 (2023). 29. Wheeler M.A., Clark I.C., Lee H.G., Li Z., Linnerbauer M., Rone J.M., Blain M., Akl C.F., Piester G., Giovannoni F., Charabati M., Lee J.H., Kye Y.C., Choi J., Sanmarco L.M., Srun L., Chung E.N., Flausino L.E., Andersen B.M., Rothhammer V., Yano H., Illouz T., Zandee S.E.J., Daniel C., Artis D., Prinz M., Abate A.R., Kuchroo V.K., Antel J.P., Prat A., Quintana F.J. Droplet-based forward genetic screening of astrocyte-microglia cross-talk. ''Science'', ''379''(6636), 1023–1030 (2023). 30. Sanmarco LM, Rone JM, Polonio CM, Fernandez Lahore G, Giovannoni F, Ferrara K, Gutierrez-Vazquez C, Li N, Sokolovska A, Plasencia A, Faust Akl C, Nanda P, Heck ES, Li Z, Lee HG, Chao CC, Rejano-Gordillo CM, Fonseca-Castro PH, Illouz T, Linnerbauer M, Kenison JE, Barilla RM, Farrenkopf D, Stevens NA, Piester G, Chung EN, Dailey L, Kuchroo VK, Hava D, Wheeler MA, Clish C, Nowarski R, Balsa E, Lora JM, Quintana FJ. Lactate limits CNS autoimmunity by stabilizing HIF-1α in dendritic cells. Nature. 2023 Aug;620(7975):881-889. 31. Lee HG, Rone JM, Li Z, Akl CF, Shin SW, Lee JH, Flausino LE, Pernin F, Chao CC, Kleemann KL, Srun L, Illouz T, Giovannoni F, Charabati M, Sanmarco LM, Kenison JE, Piester G, Zandee SEJ, Antel J, Rothhammer V, Wheeler MA, Prat A, Clark IC, Quintana FJ. Disease-associated astrocyte epigenetic memory promotes CNS pathology. bioRxiv. Nature, In press.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quintana, Francisco J. 1974 births Living people American immunologists Harvard Medical School faculty American neurologists American medical researchers Weizmann Institute of Science alumni University of Buenos Aires alumni