Personal picture in the work place

Gustavo Andrés Monasterio Ocares

Postdoctoral researcher

Email:
gustavo.monasterio@ki.se
Organisation:

I am a Cancerfonden Postdoctoral Fellow at Eduardo Villablanca Lab, in the Department of Medicine, Solna.

About me

I earned my Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree from the University of Chile in 2017 and successfully defended my doctoral thesis in 2020. My thesis focused on the immunogenicity and virulence of an oral pathobiont associated with periodontitis. In 2018, I completed a ten-month internship at the Karolinska Institute, working in Dr. Eduardo Villablanca's laboratory. During my time there, I organized and raised funds for the Society for Mucosal Immunology (SMI), which led to the first "Oral-gut symposium: Mucosal immunity at the oral-gut axis in health or disease" held in January 2020 at Fundación Ciencia y Vida in Santiago, Chile.

As a postdoctoral fellow, I have developed expertise in spatial transcriptomics and proteomics, animal models of intestinal inflammation, and the physiology and immunity of the oral mucosa and salivary glands. I have also created novel tools to study the effects of intestinal disorders on the upper gastrointestinal tract, including the oral, esophageal, and stomach mucosa and associated organs. Upon completing my initial postdoctoral training, I co-authored a study published in the journal Immunity, which explored the role of B lymphocytes in intestinal mucosal regeneration.

I am currently spearheading my own research, focusing on the consequences of intestinal disorders (i.e. inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer) on oral homeostasis. My work combines my background in oral immunology and microbiology with the cutting-edge technology and tools developed and optimized in Dr. Villablanca's laboratory to study the mechanisms of initiation and resolution of intestinal disorders. I have successfully secured funding for my research from The Osteology Foundation, Lars Hierta Memorial Foundation, and Loo and Hans Osterman Foundation. Additionally, I have been awarded a competitive and prestigious Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Swedish Cancer Society (Cancerfonden), which will support my salary for the next three years.

My publishing record in the field of oral and intestinal immunology includes nine articles as first author, two book chapters as first author, and 13 articles as co-author.

Education

  • PhD in Oral Immunology and Microbiology. Universidad de Chile (2016-2020)
  • Doctor of Dental Surgery, Universidad de Chile. (2009-2016)

 

Academic honours, awards and prizes

Fellowships and Grants

  • 2023. IADR Osteology Foundation New Investigator Award in Oral Tissue Regeneration (750.000 SEK)
  • 2022. Travel Grant for assistance to Gordon Research Conference in Immunochemistry and Immunobiology, Barcelona, Spain.
  • 2022. Cancerfonden (The Swedish Cancer Society) Postdoctoral Grant (3 years salary)
  • 2022. Lars Hierta Memorial Foundation Research Grant (50.000 SEK)
  • 2021. Loo and Hans Osterman Foundation Research Grant (150.000 SEK)
  • 2021. Osteology Young Researcher Grant (300.000 SEK)
  • 2018. Funding for PhD operational expenses from the Chilean Government.
  • 2018. Travel grant for assistance to International Conference from the Chilean Government.
  • 2018. Scholarship for 10 months Internship abroad (Sweden) from the Chilean Government.
  • 2016. PhD fellowship ANID 21170297 from the Chilean Government (4 years salary)
  • 2016. Travel grant for assistance to International Conference from the Chilean Government.