Insights From Immunologists: Professor Luisa Martinez-Pomares

F4/80, clone CI:A3-1, is a well-characterized and extensively referenced macrophage and microglia marker. Recently, we had the honor of joining Professor Siamon Gordon, the father of F4/80, in celebrating its discovery over 40 years ago, alongside the past members of his lab who, in the decades since, have made significant contributions to macrophage research, and the scientific landscape as a whole.

We spoke to Professor Luisa Martinez-Pomares, who worked in Siamon’s lab characterizing the mannose receptor (CD206), which plays an active role in antigen processing and endocytosis in macrophages, about her career path and research interests. Luisa started her career as a virologist, working on African Swine Fever virus as a PhD student and studying rabbitpox viruses during her post-doc, before becoming enamored with macrophages and innate immunity. 

Bio-Rad (BR): When did you first become interested in a career in science?

Luisa Martinez-Pomares (LM): I was 14 and I was in a biochemistry class in my high school. A teacher described how feedback mechanisms in metabolism work and how she was involved in the research on that at a university nearby, and it blew my mind. I never looked back! I thought biology was the best thing ever.

BR: How did you become interested in macrophages?

LM: I was working with rabbit poxviruses and was interested in innate immunity to poxviruses. After reading the literature, it was pretty obvious to me that if you want to work on innate immunity, you want to work on macrophages. So, after a PhD and a postdoc in viruses, I decided to change fields completely and work on macrophages. And thankfully, Siamon Gordon welcomed me to his lab with little to no knowledge of these cells. It was a steep learning curve and I learned Immunology the hard way. Siamon put me to work on the mannose receptor, and I failed with a lot of things, but some things worked very well!

BR: Can you describe a highlight from your career?

LM: In my view, I have made some important contributions to key questions on the basic biology of the mannose receptor and other lectin receptors, and macrophage heterogeneity in secondary lymphoid organs. I think I have provided a lot through collaborations using my expertise on innate immunity, and by guiding and mentoring people.

BR: Can you tell us about your current research/role?

LM: I’m now a professor at the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nottingham, where I’m head of the research division Infections, Immunity and Microbes. I’ve done a substantial amount of teaching in innate immunity, specifically at the Masters level. Currently, my lab is interested in the pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa and how lectin receptors are important in the recognition of bacterial biofilms. I also have another student working on Candida albicans and we are looking at the role of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) there, which is actually a lot of fun! And now I’m looking more into using a tool that targets the mannose receptor very specifically to improve antigen presentation.

BR: What advice would you give to early career scientists?

LM: Ask questions! Ignore your inner voice telling you that you’re not good enough because you are. People talk a lot about the successes and don’t talk about the things that don’t work and we have the impression that everything works for everybody else and it’s not true. For every big paper, there’s a huge amount of data that didn’t get published. Build up your confidence and just keep going.

Thank you, Professor Luisa Martinez-Pomares, for sharing your career journey with us and inspiring the next generation of scientists to be confident and persistent!