Xavier Cabana Puig

Xavier is a PhD candidate in Virginia Tech in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, in Dr. Xin Luo's lab. He received his undergraduate in "Microbiology" in the Autonomous University of Barcelona, (UAB), Spain., and his mater's degree in "pharmaceutical Drug Research, Development and Control" in the University of Barcelona, (UB), Spain.

Xavier is particularly interested in studying the crosstalk between gut microbiota and the immune system because plays an important role in the tolerance induction to self-antigens and commensal microbiota, not only in the intestinal mucosa but also at systemic level, and without compromising their ability to react to invading pathogens. Chronic inflammation could lead to a dysbiotic state, imbalanced immune response, which could trigger responses against beneficial bacteria, with subsequent development of autoimmune reactions. The lack of disease concordance between genetically identical twins strongly suggests the role of non-genetic factors. I am currently treating systemic lupus erythematosus prone mice with probiotics that could ameliorate the symptoms.