About the research:
Macrophages and B lymphocytes are fundamental immune cells in tissue homeostasis and immunoglobulin production, respectively. Although both lineages exhibit ontogeny emerging from distinct origins, data from the literature and previous analyses by our group unexpectedly reveal cells that co-express macrophage and B cell/plasma cell markers in colorectal cancer (CRC). Our hypothesis is that chronic inflammatory factors of the tumor microenvironment (TME) are promoting and shaping the emergence of “macrophage-B cell” hybrid cells from plastic progenitors. Therefore, we will characterize these cells in the context of CRC and inflammatory bowel diseases using various omics approaches, epigenetic analyses, and transgenic mice, aiming to mathematically model the origin, fate, and function of these cells in cancer.
Awards and honors:
🏆 Honorable Mention – PhD Student, XXXIX Congress of the Brazilian Society of Immunology (2014)
🏆 Faces of Cell (Cell Press): Highligted by the Cell group by his major contributions (2022)
🏆 CNPq Research Productivity Fellow – Level 2 (2023)
🏆 ASH Abstract Achievement Award, 67th ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition, American Society of Hematology (2025)
🏆 IUIS Rising Stars Award, International Union of Immunological Societies (2025)
Selected publications:
Ramos, RN et al., CD163+ tumor-associated macrophage accumulation in breast cancer patients reflects both local differentiation signals and systemic skewing of monocytes, Clinical and Translational Immunology, 2020. doi: 10.1002/cti2.1108
Nalio-Ramos R et al., Tissue-resident FOLR2+ macrophages associate with CD8+ T cell infiltration in human breast cancer, Cell, 2022. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.02.021
Guimarães, GR et al., Single-cell resolution characterization of myeloid-derived cell states with implication in cancer outcome, Nature Communications, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-49916-4
Morgand E et al., Immune microenvironment and noncoding RNA shape early colorectal carcinogenesis in patients with premalignant lesions, Science Translational Medicine, 2026, doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aed2424
