Immunology is a field that gives you a very systems-level view of your body, meaning it’s not restricted to one location,” says Labarta-Bajo. “Your immune system moves around your body, visiting your skin, your brain, your intestines. It’s constantly circulating, surveying, making sure everything is in place. So I felt like the immune system was a window for me to better understand how our bodies work.
I am a native of Barcelona, Spain, where I completed undergraduate studies at the University of Barcelona. As part of my bachelor’s degree, I moved to Germany to study the biology of malaria-causing parasites. For my master’s degree I attended Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona and the La Jolla Institute for Immunology, where I studied CD8-T cell regulation during infection. For graduate school, I joined Elina Zuniga’s laboratory at UC San Diego, where I investigated host adaptations to chronic viral infection, and discovered immune mechanisms that induce a leaky gut after chronic viral infection, and that sickness behavior anorexia and gut microbiome components are both targets and regulators of antiviral CD8 T cell responses. As a postdoc in Nicola Allen’s lab, I am currently studying the crosstalk between astrocytes and the immune system and its implications for synapses during healthy aging. Outside of lab I really enjoy spending time with my family and in the ocean.