Leonor Remedio
Scientist II
biography
Leonor joined the Allen Institute in September of 2023 as a Scientist II in the Neurobiology of Action team. She earned her PhD in Lisboa, Portugal, investigating how changes in the bone marrow microenvironment interfere with hematopoiesis. This work inspired her long-standing fascination with the innervation of peripheral organs, namely the potential of the nervous system to directly influence hematopoiesis and immunity.Motivated by this interest, she pursued a postdoctoral training in Steve Burden’s lab at NYU where she investigated the formation and maintenance of synapses between a neuronal and a non-neuronal cell at the neuromuscular synapse.She then joined Rui Costa’s lab at Columbia University, where she’s been paving the ground for the higher-level questions that have fascinated her since her Ph.D. – starting by characterizing the effector innervation of the spleen, a highly innervated hematopoietic and immune organ.In her current position at the Allen Institute, Leonor is investigating the sympathetic circuits connecting the brain and spleen.
research focus
To maintain homeostasis, the immune system must orchestrate complex, multi-organ responses to protect against pathogens. The coordination of such responses happens not only through the immune system itself, via the mobilization of immune cells and the release of cytokines, but also through the nervous system. Indeed, the largest secondary lymphoid organ in the body, the spleen, is densely innervated, and this innervation has been conserved throughout evolution. Previous studies revealed evidence for an interoceptive interplay between the spleen and the brain that regulates immune function. Together, these findings suggest that the nervous system can modulate immunity, not only through peripheral circuits, but also by broader neuronal networks involving the brain. Leonor is interested in understanding the central-to-peripheral neuronal circuits that regulate immune function.
