Dr. Pilar Alcaide Brings Deep Immunology Research Experience to Miller School
Summary
- Immunology researcher Pilar Alcaide, Ph.D., has joined the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine as professor and vice chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.
- Dr. Alcaide’s discoveries involving the immune-cardiovascular interface and novel mechanisms of chronic inflammation have been published in top-tier journals.
- Dr. Alcaide’s sister, Maria Alcaide, M.D., is a Miller School professor of infectious diseases and University of Miami vice provost for research and scholarship.
Immunology researcher Pilar Alcaide, Ph.D., has joined the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine as professor and vice chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.
“I chose the University of Miami because of the Miller School’s strengths in interdisciplinary immunology, cardiovascular and cancer research,” said Dr. Alcaide, whose research focuses on the links between cardiovascular disease and the immune system.
“Pilar is a leading expert who studies how dysregulation of the immune system leads to certain forms of heart disease,” said Thomas Malek, Ph.D., professor and chair of the department. “She brings extensive, cross-disciplinary experience to our research program. Her work holds much promise to pinpoint the way the immune system becomes overactive and leads to chronic diseases, which is essential to design more effective treatments.”
The Immune System and Chronic Disease
Dr. Alcaide noted that most chronic inflammatory diseases are driven by untimely activation of the immune system.
“If we can moderate those responses, we could prevent and treat diseases that are the main cause of hospitalization worldwide,” she said. “There is so much potential for scientific discoveries that can be translated into clinical care.”
Dr. Alcaide’s discoveries involving the immune-cardiovascular interface and novel mechanisms of chronic inflammation have been published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, Circulation, Nature Cardiovascular Research and other top-tier journals. In the past 15 years, she has published more than 150 research papers, editorials and research communications, including a recent study in the journal, Nature Cardiovascular Research.
Decorated Career, Passion for Mentoring
Dr. Alcaide has received numerous awards, recognizing her research excellence and commitment to mentoring. She is a fellow of the American Heart Association and the president of the American Society of Investigative Pathology. She also serves as associate editor of the Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology and the Journal of Leukocyte Biology and is a member of several editorial boards of other scientific journals.
As a medical educator, Dr. Alcaide brings experience and passion in mentoring and training the next generation of scientists. She looks forward to contributing to graduate education at the University of Miami.
“The Miller School has large graduate programs, and I look forward to working with those students,” she said.
Dr. Alcaide received her Ph.D. in molecular biology from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. As a Fulbright postdoctoral fellow, she trained in vascular biology in the Department of Pathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and was appointed instructor of pathology at Harvard Medical School. She was later recruited to Tufts University School of Medicine, where she was a professor of immunology, the director of the immunology graduate program and served as assistant dean for faculty development.
Even before officially joining the Miller School, Dr. Alcaide felt a connection to its welcoming and collaborative spirit. She had heard about it often from her sister, Maria Alcaide, M.D., professor of infectious diseases and UM vice provost for research and scholarship, who is happy to welcome Pilar to the UM family.
Along with her work, Dr. Alcaide enjoys outdoor activities and sports with her family and three children, and is eager to explore and enjoy everything Miami has to offer.
Tags: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Dr. Maria Alcaide, Dr. Pilar Alcaide, inflammation, mentoring, microbiology and immunology