Felix Yarovinsky

Felix Yarovinsky is a prominent immunologist who is currently a Professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center. He completed his postdoctoral training at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases (LPD).

Yarovinsky’s research focuses on understanding how the immune system responds to and fights infections, particularly those caused by intracellular pathogens such as Toxoplasma gondii. His work has led to several important discoveries in the field, including the identification of the first innate immune sensor for Toxoplasma gondii and related Apicomplexan parasites. He discovered that Toll-like Receptor 11 (TLR11) recognizes T. gondii profilin, which plays a crucial role in the parasite’s ability to invade host cells and establish infection. In addition, Yarovinsky has made significant contributions to the field of immunopathology, notably in the inflammatory pathways leading to IFN-gamma-mediated intestinal pathology characterized by the death of Paneth cells, which regulate host-microbiome interactions.

Yarovinsky has received numerous awards and honors for his research, including the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award. He has also made significant contributions to the immunology community by serving as Chair of the Innate Immunity and Inflammation NIH study section and as a Section Editor for the Journal of Immunology. He is a member of several prestigious scientific organizations, including the American Society for Microbiology and the American Association of Immunologists.

Through his groundbreaking research, Yarovinsky has advanced our understanding of the immune response to parasitic infections and opened up new avenues for the development of novel immunotherapies and vaccines.