LIT Scientist Caio Silveira talks about “Research in Germany” in new BMBF campaign

The new campaign ‘Freedom to Cooperate’ within the initiative ‘Research in Germany’ by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) features scientists from abroad working in Germany. Caio Silveira was chosen to highlight his work in the T-FITNESS project, that aims to improve cancer immunotherapies. T-FITNESS is funded by the European Commission through Horizon Europe under the EIC Pathfinder program.
Immunotherapies offer great hope in the fight against cancer. Together with partners from six European countries, Caio Silveira aims to develop innovative T cell-based therapies to treat even solid tumors, by counteracting T cell exhaustion.

About Dr. Caio Silveira

Dr. Caio Silveira received his Ph.D. from the University of Sao Paulo in 2019 with a thesis focused on the development of novel strategies to reprogram the tumor microenvironment in cervical cancer under the supervision of Dr. Ana Paula Lepique. Caio worked then as an analyst in cell therapy at Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein (2019-2020), where he acquired extensive experience in the clinical-grade manufacturing of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes / TILs and virus-specific T cells for patient treatment. From 2020 to 2023 he was a postdoctoral scientist at the Advanced Cell Therapy Laboratory at the University of São Paulo/Fundação Hemocentro de Ribeirão Preto, working on the development of new vectors for the production of CAR T cells (genetically engineered t cells to recognize cancer), under the scientific supervision of Dr. Renato Cunha.
In October 2023 Dr. Silveira joined the Division for Functional Immune Cell Modulation at LIT. In Dr. Luca Gattinoni’s group, Caio works on the European Innovation Council / EIC-funded T-FITNESS project to overcome major barriers to successful cell therapies and to foster his academic career.

What is “Research in Germany”?