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Marcelo Freire is an associate professor in the Genomic Medicine and Infectious Disease Department at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI). Prior to joining JCVI, Dr. Freire was an assistant faculty member at The Forsyth Institute and Harvard University (Division of Oral Medicine, Infection and Immunity). Early in his career, he worked on tissue biology of infectious diseases, biofilm-induced bone diseases and antibody engineering. As a dual-scientist and clinician, Dr. Freire’s initial training provided insights in human physiology and unmet clinical needs. As a current president of the Clinical and Translational Science Network (IADR), Dr. Freire is focused on applications of scientific innovations to health care. His research focuses on investigating biological deficiencies in chronic diseases.
Dr. Freire has extensive experience in host response, inflammation biology, transcriptomics and antibody engineering. Inflammation is a fundamental physiological process of normal and pathological conditions. He has led studies that developed novel therapeutics in control of chronic diseases. At JCVI, Dr. Freire is working on investigating links integrating microbiome, metabolism and immune response. In particular his lab is studying mechanisms controlling innate recognition, phagocytosis and activation signals of adaptive immune responses.
Dr. Freire received a DDS from College of Dentistry, Campos, Rio de Janeiro, a PhD in Craniofacial Molecular Biology from University of Southern California, and DMedSc in Oral Medicine and Infectious Diseases from Harvard University.
Research Priorities
Inflammation Biology
- Basic physiology of inflammatory response, with specific interest on neutrophils and granulocytes.
- Chronic inflammation pathology including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and periodontal diseases.
- Activation of Phagocytosis
- G-protein receptors regulation of inflammatory response.
- Resolution of inflammation and tissue response.
- Single cell heterogeneity.
Drug Discovery
- Monoclonal antibody development.
- Genomic and transcriptomic studies of novel biomarkers.
- Engineering of agonist, antagonist and tethering therapeutics to host/microbial antigens.
- Biomaterial and surface modification with biologics.
- Phagocytosis of biomaterials.
Integration of Microbiome-Metabolism-Immune Systems
- Host microbial interactions, including communications inducing metainflammation.
- Evolution of immune sensing and responsiveness.
- Transcriptional response regulation of cell plasticity.
- Dietary perturbation of human/microbial biology.
- Cell fate decisions in heterogeneous micro-environments.
Publications
PloS one. 2024-07-25; 19.7: e0300408.
Sputum production and salivary microbiome in COVID-19 patients reveals oral-lung axis
ACS synthetic biology. 2024-04-19; 13.4: 1128-1141.
Minimal Bacterial Cell JCVI-syn3B as a Chassis to Investigate Interactions between Bacteria and Mammalian Cells
PNAS nexus. 2024-04-01; 3.4: pgae126.
Host-microbiome associations in saliva predict COVID-19 severity
Frontiers in public health. 2024-02-21; 12.1348441.
Association between risk of obstructive sleep apnea severity and risk of severe COVID-19 symptoms: insights from salivary and serum cytokines
Frontiers in immunology. 2023-10-19; 14.1220610.
Oral mucosa immunity: ultimate strategy to stop spreading of pandemic viruses
Nature immunology. 2023-10-01; 24.10: 1778.
Author Correction: SARS-CoV-2 reservoir in post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC)
Nature immunology. 2023-10-01; 24.10: 1616-1627.
SARS-CoV-2 reservoir in post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC)
Plants (Basel, Switzerland). 2023-07-20; 12.14:
Exploring the Proteomic Profile of Soybean Bran: Unlocking the Potential for Improving Protein Quality and Quantity
Heliyon. 2023-07-04; 9.7: e17958.
Persistent immune and clotting dysfunction detected in saliva and blood plasma after COVID-19
Scientific data. 2022-11-16; 9.1: 702.
NETome: A model to Decode the Human Genome and Proteome of Neutrophil Extracellular Traps
Journal of dental research. 2022-10-01; 101.11: 1274-1288.
A Roadmap for the Human Oral and Craniofacial Cell Atlas
Microbial ecology. 2021-11-01; 82.4: 1030-1046.
Oral Microbial Species and Virulence Factors Associated with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Microbial ecology. 2021-11-01; 82.4: 1047.
Correction to: Oral Microbial Species and Virulence Factors Associated with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Science advances. 2021-08-13; 7.33:
Coral microbiome manipulation elicits metabolic and genetic restructuring to mitigate heat stress and evade mortality
BMC immunology. 2021-06-16; 22.1: 37.
Transcriptomics of type 2 diabetic and healthy human neutrophils
NPJ vaccines. 2021-06-02; 6.1: 80.
Is the oral microbiome a source to enhance mucosal immunity against infectious diseases?
Trends in microbiology. 2021-06-01; 29.6: 551-561.
The Oral Host-Microbial Interactome: An Ecological Chronometer of Health?
Journal of dental research. 2021-05-25; 220345211014432.
The Human Salivary Proteome Wiki: A Community-Driven Research Platform
Nature medicine. 2021-05-01; 27.5: 892-903.
SARS-CoV-2 infection of the oral cavity and saliva
Frontiers in immunology. 2021-02-25; 12.619262.
The Impact of Oral-Gut Inflammation in Cerebral Palsy
iScience. 2021-01-22; 24.1: 101941.
Impaired host response and the presence of Acinetobacter baumannii in the serum microbiome of type-II diabetic patients
medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences. 2020-10-27;
Integrated Single-Cell Atlases Reveal an Oral SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Transmission Axis
Journal of dental research. 2020-09-01; 99.10: 1131-1139.
Inflammatory Networks Linking Oral Microbiome with Systemic Health and Disease
Scientific reports. 2020-05-14; 10.1: 7954.
Longitudinal Study of Oral Microbiome Variation in Twins
Frontiers in immunology. 2019-11-12; 10.2602.
Host-Microbial Interactions in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Periodontitis
Journal of proteome research. 2019-04-05; 18.4: 1907-1915.
Self-Assembled STrap for Global Proteomics and Salivary Biomarker Discovery
Frontiers in immunology. 2018-06-12; 9.1300.
Resolvin E1 Promotes Bone Preservation Under Inflammatory Conditions
The International journal of periodontics & restorative dentistry. 2018-06-12; 38.5: 637–644.
A Histologic and Histomorphometric Retrospective Analysis of the Outcomes of Ridge Preservation Using Anorganic Bovine Bone Minerals and a Nonresorbable Membrane
Scientific reports. 2017-10-09; 7.1: 12848.
ERV1 Overexpression in Myeloid Cells Protects against High Fat Diet Induced Obesity and Glucose Intolerance
Molecular oral microbiology. 2017-02-01; 32.1: 74-88.
A bacterial-biofilm-induced oral osteolytic infection can be successfully treated by immuno-targeting an extracellular nucleoid-associated protein
Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950). 2017-01-15; 198.2: 718-728.
Neutrophil Resolvin E1 Receptor Expression and Function in Type 2 Diabetes
Frontiers in microbiology. 2016-01-01; 7.1230.
Staphylococcus aureus Shifts toward Commensalism in Response to Corynebacterium Species
Infection and immunity. 2015-02-01; 83.2: 792-801.
Impact of resolvin E1 on murine neutrophil phagocytosis in type 2 diabetes
Tissue engineering. Part A. 2011-12-01; 17.23-24: 2911-8.
Antibody-mediated osseous regeneration: a novel strategy for bioengineering bone by immobilized anti-bone morphogenetic protein-2 antibodies
Journal of periodontology. 2011-05-01; 82.5: 778-89.
Development of an animal model for Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans biofilm-mediated oral osteolytic infection: a preliminary study
Help Take the Bite Out of Cancer
The goal is to find novel biomarkers to aid in prevention, diagnostics, and therapeutics of OSCC.
Inflammation: Friend or Foe?
JCVI Associate Professor, Marcelo Freire, DDS, PhD, DMSc, continues to lead the field as he investigates the critical role the human microbiome plays in inflammation as the pathway to chronic disease.