Summary
Dr. Régis Joulia is a Wellcome Trust funded Group Leader at the National Heart & Lung Institute (NHLI) since January 2024.
Régis joined Imperial in July 2021 after 4 years of post-doctoral research at the William Harvey Research Institute, QMUL, in the group of Prof. Sussan Nourshargh. Prior to this, he was awarded a PhD in immunology from the University of Toulouse Paul Sabatier III under the supervision of Dr. Eric Espinosa and Dr. Salvatore Valitutti in 2016.
Research
His research is mainly focused on the impact of inflammation on tissue remodelling and specifically changes in the blood vessel organisation. His lab is particularly interested to decipher the role of an immune cell called mast cells and pericytes, structural cell critical to maintain blood vessel function.
During his PhD, Régis used cutting edge imaging approaches to decipher the mechanisms of mast cell degranulation leading to several publications in Nature Communication and JACI.
Whilst in Prof Sussan Nourshargh's laboratory he developed new mouse models to analyse inflammatory responses (i.e. vascular permeability and leukocyte recruitment) using confocal intra-vital imaging approaches. Dr. Régis Joulia then moved to Imperial College with a BHF CRE Research Fellowship from the BHF Centre of Excellence to study mast cell and pericyte interactions in the context of lung inflammation.
His lab is exploring how immune cell activation is impacting the lung blood vessel structure in the context of respiratory disorders.
Achievements
Régis has been the recipient of prestigious awards including Young investigator Award from the Bettencourt-Schueller Foundation, fellowships from “Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale” and EU-Marie Curie, EFIS ACTERIA Early Career Prize in Allergology. His research is funded by the Wellcome Trust, NIHR BRC and British Heart Foundation (BHF).
Selected Publications
Journal Articles
Barkaway A, Rolas L, Joulia R, et al., 2021, Age-related changes in the local milieu of inflamed tissues cause aberrant neutrophil trafficking and subsequent remote organ damage, Immunity, Vol:54, ISSN:1074-7613, Pages:1494-+
Owen-Woods C, Joulia R, Barkaway A, et al., 2020, Local microvascular leakage promotes trafficking of activated neutrophils to remote organs, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Vol:130, ISSN:0021-9738, Pages:2301-2318
Joulia R, Mailhol C, Valitutti S, et al., 2017, Direct monitoring of basophil degranulation by using avidin-based probes, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Vol:140, ISSN:0091-6749, Pages:1159-+
Joulia R, L'Faqihi F-E, Valitutti S, et al., 2017, IL-33 fine tunes mast cell degranulation and chemokine production at the single-cell level, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Vol:140, ISSN:0091-6749, Pages:497-+
Valitutti S, Joulia R, Espinosa E, 2017, The Mast Cell Antibody-Dependent Degranulatory Synapse., Methods Mol Biol, Vol:1584, Pages:487-495
Joulia R, Gaudenzio N, Rodrigues M, et al., 2015, Mast cells form antibody-dependent degranulatory synapse for dedicated secretion and defence, Nature Communications, Vol:6, ISSN:2041-1723
Gaudenzio N, Joulia R, Valitutti S, et al., 2014, Vectorial Exposure and Fusion Of Secretory Granule Content At The Mast Cell Degranulatory Synapse, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Vol:133, ISSN:0091-6749, Pages:AB60-AB60