Rocío Rubio is a microbiologist with expertise in immunology of infectious diseases. She earned her degree in Microbiology from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) in 2019, where she began her research journey with the Viral, Genetic and Immune-mediated Liver Diseases group at IDIBAPS, studying the Hepatitis B virus evolution in chronically treated patients. She expanded her international experience through two Erasmus+ internships: one with the Malaria Infection & Immunity Group at Institut Pasteur in Paris, investigating potential malaria vaccine candidates, and another at the RWTH Aachen University’s Institute of Medical Microbiology studying Giardia lamblia infections in neonatal mice models.
In 2020, she completed a Master’s in Advanced Immunology from Universitat de Barcelona and UAB, when she joined the Malaria Immunology group led by Carlota Dobaño and Gemma Moncunill to work on immune deviation mechanisms in malaria and intestinal parasite co-infections for her master’s thesis.
Since 2021, Rocío has been a predoctoral fellow in the Malaria Immunology group, researching adaptive immune responses, antibodies and T cells, to SARS-CoV-2 after infection and vaccination. In 2024, she performed a three-month research placement at the Burnet Institute in the Malaria Immunity and Vaccines Group to learn antibody-functional assays.
Lines of research
- Immunity and vaccine responses to malaria, COVID-19 and helminthiasis
- Immune responses during pregnancy and neonatal periods, including maternal antibody transfer
Main publications
- Rubio R, Yavlinsky A, Escalera Zamudio M, Molinos-Albert LM, Martín Pérez C, Pradenas E, Canyelles M, Torres C, Tan C, Swadling L, Ramírez-Morros A, Trinité B, Vidal-Alaball J, Aguilar R, Ruiz-Comellas A, Blanco J, van Dorp L, Balloux F, Dobaño C, Moncunill G. Initial antigen encounter determines robust T-cell immunity against SARS-CoV-2 BA.2.86 variant three years later. J Infect. 2024 Dec 31;90(2):106402. doi: 10.1016/j.jinf.2024.106402. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39746406.
- Rubio R, Macià D, Barrios D, Vidal M, Jiménez A, Molinos-Albert LM, Díaz N, Canyelles M, Lara-Escandell M, Planchais C, Santamaria P, Carolis C, Izquierdo L, Aguilar R, Moncunill G, Dobaño C. High-resolution kinetics and cellular determinants of SARS-CoV-2 antibody response over two years after COVID-19 vaccination. Microbes Infect. 2024 Sep 17:105423. doi: 10.1016/j.micinf.2024.105423. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39299570.
- Rubio R, Aguilar R, Bustamante M, Muñoz E, Vázquez-Santiago M, Santano R, Vidal M, Melero NR, Parras D, Serra P, Santamaria P, Carolis C, Izquierdo L, Gómez-Roig MD, Dobaño C, Moncunill G, Mazarico E. Maternal and neonatal immune response to SARS-CoV-2, IgG transplacental transfer and cytokine profile. Front Immunol. 2022 Sep 27;13:999136. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.999136. PMID: 36238312; PMCID: PMC9552073.
- Santano R, Rubio R, Grau-Pujol B, Escola V, Muchisse O, Cuamba I, Vidal M, Ruiz-Olalla G, Aguilar R, Gandasegui J, Demontis M, Jamine JC, Cossa A, Sacoor C, Cano J, Izquierdo L, Chitnis CE, Coppel RL, Chauhan V, Cavanagh D, Dutta S, Angov E, van Lieshout L, Zhan B, Muñoz J, Dobaño C, Moncunill G. Evaluation of antibody serology to determine current helminth and Plasmodium falciparum infections in a co-endemic area in Southern Mozambique. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2022 Jun 21;16(6):e0010138. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010138. PMID: 35727821; PMCID: PMC9212154.
- Santano R, Rubio R, Grau-Pujol B, Escola V, Muchisse O, Cuamba I, Vidal M, Cisteró P, Ruiz-Olalla G, Aguilar R, Demontis M, Jamine JC, Cossa A, Sacoor C, Cano J, Izquierdo L, Chitnis CE, Coppel RL, Chauhan V, Cavanagh D, Dutta S, Angov E, Gaur D, van Lieshout L, Zhan B, Muñoz J, Moncunill G, Dobaño C. Plasmodium falciparum and Helminth Coinfections Increase IgE and Parasite-Specific IgG Responses. Microbiol Spectr. 2021 Dec 22;9(3):e0110921. doi: 10.1128/Spectrum.01109-21. Epub 2021 Dec 8. PMID: 34878303; PMCID: PMC8653825.
