Martina Erbì

Research

I am fascinated by the intricate crosstalk between cellular metabolism and immune cell function. My main research focus is the development and application of a multiplexed click-chemistry based assay to study core nutrient uptake (glucose, glutamine and fatty acid) in immune populations at a single cell level in situ. Thus far, investigation of the nutrient needs of immune cells, which has the potential to shape their metabolic profile and therefore their function in tissues, has been hampered by a lack of tools that can faithfully trace this in situ and at a single cell level. With my project, which is a collaboration with the group of Sander van Kasteren at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry, we hope to fill this gap. This will allow us to potentially identify nutrient bottlenecks for immune cell function, with a particular focus on dendritic cells in the tumor microenvironment,  that could be exploited for therapeutic gain.

Curriculum Vitae

During my Bachelor in Medical Biotechnologies at the University of Milan in Italy, I travelled to the Netherlands for a 3 months internship as a part of the Erasmus+ Studies program. I fell in love with Leiden so much that I came back for my Master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences at the LUMC. During my Masters, I had the opportunity to perform a 9-months internship in the cellular immunometabolism group where I looked at the role of the post-translational modification OGlcNAcylation on human macrophage function and metabolism. I am now continuing diving into the fascinating depths of immunometabolism of myeloid cells during my PhD.

When I am not in the lab, I can be found reading a book with a nice cup of coffee, playing board games or tasting new pastries at various cafes around Leiden.