Innate lymphoid cells (ILC) are the most recently defined cell family to be included to the increasingly complex atlas of the immune system. ILC have a lymphoid morphology, lack rearranged antigen receptors and are abundantly present at mucosal surfaces. ILC development and function have been widely perceived to be programmed. However, emerging evidence indicates that ILC are also controlled by environmental signals. Here, we will discuss how ILC perceive, integrate and respond to their environment, notably to nutritional and neuronal cues.
Henrique Veiga-Fernandes graduated in Veterinary Medicine at Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal. He was awarded a PhD in molecular and cellular biology from Université René Descartes, Paris, France. He developed his post-doctoral research at Institut Necker in Paris, France and at the National Institute for Medical Research, London, UK. He started his own group in 2009 at IMM, Lisbon, Portugal. He was member of the IMM board of directors from 2014 to 2016. In 2016 he joined the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown in Lisbon, Portugal, as a senior group leader. He made ground-breaking contributions to the understanding of immunological memory, innate lymphoid cells and neuroimmune cell units. Among other distinctions he received several European Research Council (ERC) awards and has been elected as EMBO member in 2015.
