Michela Locci, PhD

Michela Locci graduated magna cum laude in Biotechnology from the University of Bologna (Italy), and received her Ph.D. in Immunology and Applied Biotechnology from Tor Vergata University (Italy). After her postdoctoral training in Dr. Shane Crotty’s group (USA), she joined the University of Pennsylvania (USA) as an Assistant Professor of Microbiology in 2018. Her research is focused on the biology of T follicular helper (Tfh) cells and regulation of germinal center (GC) responses following vaccination and infection. Dr. Locci’s work has contributed to our current understanding of the nature of memory Tfh cells, the processes regulating the differentiation of Tfh cells as well as the quantitative and qualitative features of Tfh and GC B cell responses elicited by messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines. Currently, major efforts in the Locci lab are aimed at shedding light on the immunological mechanisms of mRNA vaccines and Long COVID pathogenesis.