Mihai Netea

Mihai Netea co-discovered trained immunity, demonstrating that innate immune cells including monocytes and macrophages undergo long-lasting epigenetic reprogramming through H3K4me3 and H3K27ac modifications after exposure to BCG or beta-glucan, enabling enhanced anti-tumor responses upon subsequent challenge. His work established that trained immunity operates through metabolic rewiring from oxidative phosphorylation to glycolysis via the mTOR-HIF1alpha axis, fundamentally changing the paradigm that innate immunity lacks memory. He leads clinical trials evaluating BCG and beta-glucan as trained immunity-based cancer immunotherapy adjuvants.