James Di Santo

James Di Santo obtained MD/PhD from Cornell Medical College and the Sloan Kettering Institute in NYC, pursued postdoctoral training with Pr Alain Fisher (Necker Hospital, Paris) and Pr Klaus Rajewsky (Institute for Genetics, Cologne) before creating his own laboratory in 1999 at the Institut Pasteur. James currently holds the position of Professor in the Immunology Department at Institut Pasteur and Director of Research within the French Medical Research Institute (Inserm). With more than 30 years of experience in fundamental and translational immunology, our main scientific interests are in the areas of lymphocyte biology, cytokines, transcription factors and signaling pathways in the development and function of both adaptive (T and B cell) and innate lymphoid cells (ILC, NK cells) in mice and man. In parallel, over the last 20 years, we have developed a series of humanized mouse models for the immune system that allows us to probe fundamental questions in human immunology especially in relation to infectious diseases. Most recently, we have developed an integrated systems immunology approach using nasal swab samples to assess biology of an active mucosal site in healthy individuals and patients suffering from respiratory diseases. While fundamental in nature, our projects have a clear translational aim to impact in the clinics.