Gustavo Martinez Email and Phone Number

Lead the autoimmune discovery team

• Demonstrated that transcription factors NFAT1 and NFAT2 differentially regulate the generation and function of effector and memory CD8 T cells respectively, highlighting the possibly targeting of these transcription factors to manipulate T cell responses (publication as senior author in Frontiers in Immunology, 2019)• Identified Kdm6b as a crucial epigenetic regulator of effector CD8 T cells during acute viral infection and cancer, as well as its requirement in the generation of exhausted T cells, suggesting it could be a therapeutic target in cancer and infectious diseases (publication as senior author in The Journal of Immunology, 2021).

• Provided next generation sequencing (NGS) support to researchers at Scripps and local institutions; supervised three full-time employees to ensure timely delivery of sequencing data to investigators.• Served as a scientific advisor for researchers needing NGS services to increase the success of experimental designs, which lead to the publication of 5 articles).

• Demonstrated for the first time that NFAT transcription factors, in the absence of cooperation with AP-1 transcription factors, are crucial drivers of T cell exhaustion (publication as first author in Immunity, 2015). This publication open the field in the transcriptional regulation of exhaustion, and identified downstream targets like Nr4a and Tox transcription factors, providing therapeutic alternatives to target exhaustion in cancer and chronic infectious diseases.• Collaborated with other laboratories to uncover the role of NFAT in CD8 T cell function (publication as co-author in Nature Immunology, 2017 and The Journal of Immunology, 2018). • Identified NFAT2 as an important transcription factor that regulates follicular helper T cells and germinal center reactions in the context of acute viral infections (publication as first author in The Journal of Immunology, 2016). This publication indicates that this transcription factor could be targeted in autoimmunity to dampen B cell responses. • Collaborated with other members of the Rao laboratory to demonstrate the role of epigenetic regulator Jarid2 as well as the RNA processing enzyme Dicer in T cell biology (publications as co-author in Nature Communications, 2014 and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 2013).

• Identified the molecular mechanisms that allow for the generation of Th17 and Treg cells from naïve CD4 T cells, which has significant implications in the rationale design of therapeutics in autoimmunity (first-author publication in Immunity, 2008). • Demonstrated the role of Smad-dependent and -independent functions in differentiation of Th17 and Treg cells downstream of TGF-beta signaling, identifying distinct mechanisms for the specific manipulation of these cell types during disease (first-author publications in Immunity, 2008; Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2009, 2010). • Identified the important role the Steroid Receptor Coactivator 3 plays in driving Th17 cell generation, which could be specifically targeted during autoimmune disease to dampen Th17-mediated responses (first-author publication in Cell Reports, 2018)• Collaborated with members of the Dong and Watowich laboratories in their respective projects, leading to 14 publications in journals like Immunity, Science, Nature, Nature Medicine, Journal of Experimental Medicine, among others.