Rate My Professor Maria Forlenza

Professor Maria Forlenza is Professor of Comparative Immunology and Professorial Group Leader in Immunology at The Roslin Institute, part of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, a position she assumed in January 2025. She earned her MSc in Molecular Biology with specialization in molecular immunology from Università della Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy, in 1998 (cum laude), and her PhD from Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands, in 2009 (cum laude). Her professional journey encompasses postdoctoral research at Wageningen University and Research (2009) and Leiden University (2010), followed by Assistant Professor (2011–2017) and Associate Professor (2017–2025) positions at Wageningen University and Research. In 2011, she received a personal Veni grant from the Dutch Science Foundation (NWO), enabling her to establish and lead a research group in Comparative Immunology.

Forlenza's work focuses on comparative immunology, investigating the evolution of the vertebrate immune system, host-pathogen interactions, and vaccine development, particularly in fish (zebrafish, common carp, tilapia), chickens, and pigs. She has characterized functions of cytokines such as TNFα (lacking conserved pro-inflammatory activity but inducing behavioral fever) and IL-10 (conserved anti-inflammatory roles), along with scavenger receptors, Toll-like receptors, macrophage polarization, and trained immunity in fish. Key host-pathogen studies cover SVCV and KHV infections in carp, TiLV in tilapia, trypanosome infections in cyprinids (including zebrafish model with foamy macrophages), and IBV evasion of type I IFN via nsp15-mediated host protein shutoff. Her vaccine research includes DNA vaccination against SVCV achieving up to 100% protection in carp at 0.1 μg/g doses, and mucosal vaccination using recombinant viral vectors or replicon particles, detailed in highly cited reviews. Recent publications comprise "Coronavirus endoribonuclease nsp15 suppresses host protein synthesis and evades PKR-eIF2α-mediated translation shutoff to ensure viral protein synthesis" (2025, PLoS Pathogens), "Distinct distribution and responses of IgM+, IgT1+ and IgT2+ B cells in common carp" (2024, Frontiers in Immunology), and "Application of CRISPR/Cas9 for Rapid Genome Editing of Pseudorabies Virus and Bovine Herpesvirus-1" (2024, Viruses). She currently co-leads projects on aquaculture infrastructure and pump-priming, and develops fish intestinal organoids to advance the 3Rs principles.