Andrea Cerutti, MD
Photo: Andrea Cerutti

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Elected 2009
Dr. Cerutti studied medicine and hematology at Padua University (Padua) and later pursued basic immunology research at Weill Medical College of Cornell University (New York). Currently he is a Professor of Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine (New York) and an ICREA Professor at PRBB-IMIM (Barcelona). Dr. Cerutti studies the pathways utilized by B cells to produce antibodies. The main focus of his research is the role of the innate immune system in immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy chain class switching, a process critical for the generation of immune protection against viral and bacterial infections. By substituting IgM with IgG, IgA or IgE, class switching provides antibodies with novel effector functions without changing their antigen specificity. Dr. Cerutti’s aim is to dissect the mechanisms by which innate antigen receptors on epithelial cells, dendritic cells macrophages and granulocytes enhance class switching and antibody production after sensing microbial products. A better understanding of these mechanisms may lead to the development of novel or more effective vaccines against pathogens, including HIV. Dr. Cerutti’s group is also interested in the regulation and function of IgD, an enigmatic antibody isotype that arose together with IgM at the time of the emergence of the adaptive immune system. IgD is mainly produced in the upper respiratory tract and undergoes abnormal elevation in patients with autoinflammatory disorders and periodic fever, including hyper-IgD syndrome. Finally, Dr. Cerutti is interested in the mechanisms by which HIV evades protective IgG and IgA responses systemically and at mucosal sites of entry.