Neuro-Immune Interactions
Daniela Latorre
Dr. Daniela Latorre obtained her PhD in Immunology from Sapienza University of Rome and completed her postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Prof. Federica Sallusto, first at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB) in Bellinzona and later at ETH Zurich. In 2020, she was awarded the prestigious PRIMA Starting Grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation, which enabled her to establish and lead the Human Neuroimmunology Group at ETH Zurich. In 2025, Dr. Latorre received the Armenise–Harvard Foundation Career Development Award and subsequently founded her new research group at San Raffaele Hospital in Milan. Her research is further supported by competitive national and international programs, including the ERC Consolidator Grant and the Italian Consolidator Grant.
Dr. Latorre’s research focuses on neuro-immune interactions, with particular emphasis on autoreactive immune cell responses in the context of human neurological diseases. Her research has provided the first conclusive evidence of the autoimmune origin of narcolepsy (Nature, 2018) and more recently identified key immune mechanisms underlying Guillain–Barré syndrome (Nature, 2024), advancing our understanding of such diseases and paving the way novel biomedical applications.
2013 PhD in Immunology, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Rome, Italy
2009 Master’s Degree in Medical, Molecular and Cellular Biotechnologies “Sapienza” University of Rome, Rome, Italy
2006 Bachelor’s Degree in Biotechnologies University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Rome, Italy
2025 - to date Group Leader, Neuro-Immune Interactions Unit, Institute of Experimental Neurology- INSPE, Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, Italy
2020-2024 SNSF PRIMA Group Leader, Human Neuroimmunology Group, Institute of Microbiology, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
2018-2019 Senior Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute of Microbiology, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
2013-2017 Postdoctoral Fellow Institute for Research in Biomedicine, Bellinzona, Switzerland
2024 Career Development Award, Giovanni Armenise Harvard Foundation. Awarded to foster the development of outstanding early-career scientists working abroad to establish their own lab at a host institute in Italy.
2024 Invited participant, 6th World Laureates Forum, Shanghai, China. Selected as an outstanding young researcher (one of 100 worldwide) in recognition of scientific achievements and influence.
2021 Invited participant, 4th World Laureates Forum, Shanghai, China (virtual). Selected as one of the most promising young scientists at ETH Zurich.
2021 Paul Pettivano Fellowship, Association Monégasque contre les Myopathies, for the best research grant proposal on muscle disorders.
2020 Pfizer Research Prize, in the field of neurological sciences and diseases of the nervous system. Zurich, Switzerland.
2020 1st Prize, Best Scientific Work 2018/2019, Franco Regli Foundation, Switzerland. Awarded for research in the field of neurodegenerative diseases.
2019 Best Publication in Basic Sleep Research, Swiss Society for Sleep Research, Sleep Medicine and Chronobiology (SSSSC), Switzerland.
2019 Young Scientist Award, European Narcolepsy Network (EU-NN), sponsored by the Klaus-Grawe Foundation, Switzerland.
2019 EFIS Travel Grant, European Federation of Immunological Societies, supporting participation in the 5th Conference on Translational Medicine on Pathogenesis and Therapy of Immune-mediated Diseases, Milan, Italy.
2018 Best International Young Researcher on Narcolepsy, Associazione Italiana Narcolettici e Ipersonni Onlus (AIN), Italy.
2018 SSAI Travel Grant, Swiss Society for Allergology and Immunology, supporting participation in the 14th International Congress of Neuroimmunology, Brisbane, Australia.
2013 Geneviève Spik Student Award, XI International Conference on Lactoferrin, Rome, Italy.
General Honors and Recognitions
2025 Recipient of the Onorificenza Unione Province Italiane (UPI) – Basilicata, awarded to 20 distinguished individuals from Basilicata region recognized for their outstanding service to the community. Potenza, IT.
2021 Recipient of the Venosine per Esempio Prize in occasion of the International Women's Day by my home-Town Council, Venosa (PZ), Italy. This prize acknowledges my achievements as a women researcher on the international scientific environment. Venosa (PZ), IT.
2018 Recipient of the Acknowledgment Prize by Consiglio Regionale della Basilicata for the work performed on international scientific research. Potenza, IT.