Dr. Teresa Rodriguez-Calvo (DVM, PhD)
Lead scientist of research area: Type 1 diabetes pathology, Institute of Diabetes Research, Helmholtz Munich, German Research Center for Environmental HealthThe research program of my laboratory is directed at identifying immunopathological aspects of human type 1 diabetes that will assist in reaching effective prevention or reversal of the disease. Key to achieving this is to define the interactions between environmental, immune, and intrinsic beta cell factors that underlie the inability of patients with type 1 diabetes to maintain immunological tolerance.
The research program of my laboratory is directed at identifying immunopathological aspects of human type 1 diabetes that will assist in reaching effective prevention or reversal of the disease. Key to achieving this is to define the interactions between environmental, immune, and intrinsic beta cell factors that underlie the inability of patients with type 1 diabetes to maintain immunological tolerance.
Scientific Career & Research Areas
Teresa Rodriguez-Calvo (D.V.M., Ph.D.) studied veterinary medicine at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) in Spain, and completed her PhD in Veterinary Science at the Research Center for Animal Health (CISA) in 2012. In this Biosafety level-3 facility, she acquired her passion for viruses and she focused her research on Immunology and Virology, studying the immune response against Foot and Mouth Disease Virus (FMDV) and Bluetongue Virus (BTV), and specifically the role of dendritic cells during the course of infection. In 2012 she joined La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI), in La Jolla, California, United States, as a postdoc under the supervision of Prof. Matthias von Herrath, and in 2015 she was promoted to Instructor. In April 2017, she joined the Institute of Diabetes Research (Helmholtz Munich) in Munich, Germany, and started her own laboratory to continue her research with a focus on the immunopathology of human type 1 diabetes.
Teresa Rodriguez-Calvo (D.V.M., Ph.D.) and her team are on a mission to understand the development of type 1 diabetes. She works in close collaboration with the JDRF-funded Network for Pancreatic Organ Donors with Diabetes (nPOD) to investigate key mechanisms of viral infection and the immune response against enteroviruses. Dr. Rodriguez-Calvo is also interested in understanding the early changes that take place in the pancreas in individuals at risk of developing the disease and, specifically, if there is a defect in beta cell function before clinical onset and how the immune system might interact with and recognize these “defective beta cells”.
Teresa Rodriguez-Calvo is involved in a wide range of scientific and research activities and shares her experiences in various scientific and editorial working groups, committees & collaborations:
- Coordinator of the Helmholtz Diabetes Center Seminars. Helmholtz Munich, Munich, Germany.
- Associate Editor for Autoimmune and Autoinflammatory Disorders (specialty section of Frontiers in Immunology).
- Research Topic Editor for Frontiers in Endocrinology.
- Member of the International Organizing Committee for the 19th Immunology of Diabetes Society meeting, Paris, France.
- Member of the Planning Committee for the 18th Immunology of Diabetes Society Meeting, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
- Member and WP3 co-leader of INNODIA: Translational approaches to disease modifying therapy of type 1 diabetes: An innovative approach towards understanding and arresting Type 1 diabetes. WP3. Novel Models and Mechanistic Studies on T1D Pathogenesis.
- Member and WP3 co-leader of INNODIA Harvest. Translational approaches to disease modifying therapy of type 1 diabetes - HARVESTing the fruits of INNODIA.
- Member of the nPOD Pro-hormone working group.
- Member of the nPOD Data Science working group.
- Member of the nPOD-Autoimmunity working group.
- Member of the nPOD-Virus working group.
Professional Background
Lead scientist research area "Type 1 Diabetes Pathology", Institute of Diabetes Research, Helmholtz Munich, Germany
Instructor: La Jolla Institute for Immunology, La Jolla, California, USA
Postdoctoral fellow: La Jolla Institute for Immunology, La Jolla, California, USA
Fields of Work & Expertise
Type 1 diabetesPathogenesisImmunologyPancreas pathologyMicroscopy and image analysis
Honors and Awards
2020 - JDRF Career Development Award for her work in understanding the development of type 1 diabetes.
2020 - DZD Next Young Talent Program Award
2019 - Organizer of the 3rd Follow-up “Persistent virus infection as a cause of pathogenic inflammation in type 1 diabetes” (PEVNET) meeting. Munich, Germany
2018 - The George S. Eisenbarth nPOD Award for Team Science.
Helmsley Charitable Trust. Network for Pancreatic Organ Donors with Diabetes (nPOD), Florida, USA2017 - Best Poster award
2nd joint meeting of the EASD - Islet Study Group and the Beta Cell Workshop. Dresden, Germany2017 - Travel award
The 15th International Congress of the Immunology of Diabetes Society (IDS). San Francisco, USA2016 - Travel award
52nd European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). Munich, Germany2015 - nPOD Investigator Spotlight
2015 - Young Investigator Award for outstanding contributions to diabetes research
Network for Pancreatic Organ Donors with Diabetes (nPOD)2015 - Travel award
The 14th International Congress of the Immunology of Diabetes Society (IDS). Munich, Germany2013 - Best Poster award and travel award
The 13th International Congress of the Immunology of Diabetes Society (IDS). Lorne, Victoria, Australia2011 - Travel award
Building Bridges Workshop. The European Research Group for Epizootic Disease Diagnosis (EPIZONE). Beijing, China2010 - Travel award
14th International Congress of Immunology (ICI), Kobe, Japan2010 - Travel award
The European Research Group for Epizootic Disease Diagnosis (EPIZONE) Theme 5 meeting. Copenhagen, Denmark2009 - Travel award
The European Research Group for Epizootic Disease Diagnosis (EPIZONE) Theme 5 meeting. Paris, France
Reviewing activities
Reviewer for the following journals: Clinical and Experimental Immunology, PLoS One, PNAS, Diabetes, Microbes and Infection, Diabetologia, iScience, Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, Journal of Translational Research, FASEB, Scientific Reports, Molecular Immunology, Viral Immunology, Microorganism, Journal of Clinical Medicine, Endocrine Reviews, PLoS Pathogens, BMC Endocrine Disorders, Epidemiology and Infection, Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy journal, Acta Histochemica, Cell Metabolism, Frontiers in Immunology, Frontiers in Endocrinology, Biology Open, Science Advances, Nature Communications, Molecular Metabolism.
Reviewer for Bourses et Mandats/Grants and Fellowships 2023 Doctorants/PhD students of the Fund for Scientific Research FNRS. Scientific scholar.
Grant Reviewer for the University of Colorado Diabetes Research Center Pilot and Feasibility Program 2022.
Expert Collaborator of the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI). Grant Reviewer for the Open call: Knowledge Generation Projects 2021 and Open call: Vasc Country University. Pre-doctoral contracts PIF Modality I and II 2022.
Grant Review Panel Member for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Pilot Studies for Mechanisms of T1D Disease Pathogenesis RFA, FY19 Beta Cell Replacement and Beta Cell Regeneration Innovative Awards Review and SRA Program Requests (Ad Hoc).
Highlight Publications
See all2023 Diabetologia
2021 Science Advances
2021 Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences
2019 Clinical and Experimental Immunology
Enterovirus infection and type 1 diabetes: unraveling the crime scene.
2018 Current Diabetes Reports
Pancreas Pathology During the Natural History of Type 1 Diabetes.
Media Coverage
Heard on the street: The sugar science
New publication
Podcast: The sugar science
