I am Apolline Fortun from France.

I studied Pharmacy at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical and Biological Sciences of Nantes, where I defended a thesis on Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma, and completed an MSc in Biomedical Engineering – Molecular and Cellular Biotherapies at Université de Paris, PSL, and Arts et Métiers ParisTech.

During my studies, I gained experience in immunology and stem cell biology through internships at INSERM UMR1064 (CRTI) in Nantes, where I helped develop and optimize an ELISA assay to detect anti-CMV antibodies presented by HLA-E molecules to predict graft rejection. I also trained at the Cochin Institute in Paris, studying how autophagy modulates the intestinal immunological environment in a Citrobacter rodentium-infected mouse model.

After university, I worked for two years as a research assistant in the Passegué Lab at Columbia University in New York. My work there focused on the role of the REST complex in maintaining the aging phenotype of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and how its loss affects HSC quiescence and differentiation. I also participated in a project exploring the impact of DNMT3A loss on emergency myelopoiesis and pre-leukemic features.

During my years of training and research, I have actively participated in projects examining immune cell behavior in diverse disease contexts (transplantation, infection, cancer, aging), which shaped my interest in developing clinically relevant, translational immunomodulatory strategies.

My recent focus is on studying the immunomodulatory properties of secretomes and extracellular vesicles derived from perinatal mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) to develop innovative cell-free approaches for modulating adaptive immune responses in myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and multiple sclerosis.

In the MSCA DN “In vitro Characterization of Perinatal Cell Secretomes and Their Effect on Adaptive Immunity” project, I will be a PhD student at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome under the supervision of Professor Ornella Parolini. My research will focus on identifying the most potent secretome or EV preparation by combining functional assays, proteomic, and epigenetic analyses to better understand their immunomodulatory effects on adaptive immune cells.

The majority of my work will be performed in Rome, where I will carry out proteomic and epigenetic profiling on immune cells exposed to MSC-derived secretomes and EVs. Additionally, I am spending the first year of my PhD at CREM, Fondazione Poliambulanza in Brescia as a secondment under the supervision of Dr. Antonietta Silini, Dr. Marta Magatti, and Dr. Andrea Papait, performing functional immunoassays to characterize adaptive immune responses. My training will also include short secondments at Universitätsklinikum Essen (Prof. Bernd Giebel’s lab) to learn advanced EV isolation and purification methods, and at the University of Genova (Prof. Sveva Bollini’s lab) to gain expertise in isolating hAFSCs and handling their secretome.

As a result of my work, I hope to help identify effective, standardized cell-free therapies that can modulate damaging immune responses in chronic inflammatory diseases.

Being a part of the “In vitro Characterization of Perinatal Cell Secretomes and Their Effect on Adaptive Immunity” project offers me a unique opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge translational research within a collaborative, international network, while learning advanced techniques and expanding my knowledge of immunomodulatory biotherapies.