Assistant Professor

Olga Rojas

MD, PhD

Location
University Health Network
Address
Krembil Discovery Tower, 60 Leonard Ave, Room 7KD411 , Toronto, Ontario Canada M2T 0S8
Research Interests
Adaptive Immunity, Autoimmunity, Infectious Diseases, B cells, Microbiota
Appointment Status
Primary
Accepting
Grad Students Must First Apply Through Department, Undergraduate Students

Recent research by Dr. Rojas, published in Cell(link is external), uncovered the role of intestinal Plasma cells in inflammation during neuroinflammation. These findings revealed that a subset of microbiome-specific IgA Plasma cells is key to fighting Experimental Acute Encephalomyelitis (EAE), a mouse model for Multiple Sclerosis (MS). These IgA-producing plasma cells can travel from the intestines to the central nervous system where they are found to suppress brain inflammation during MS flare-ups.

Currently, Dr. Rojas is interested in understanding the role of mucosal immune cells as a key intermediate of the gut-brain axis. Central to this question is understanding how intestinal immune cells can directly (by migration) or indirectly (by cytokines, chemokines) impact pathogenic processes in the brain in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer disease and Parkinson disease.