Biography 

Dr Baptiste Janela obtained his PhD in skin immunology from the university Paris Diderot, France, in 2010 under the supervision of Prof. Philippe Musette. During his PhD, Dr Baptiste Janela focused his research on severe cutaneous adverse reactions to drugs, notably on the Drug Reaction with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS). In 2010, Dr Baptiste Janela moved to Singapore as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Florent Ginhoux at the Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN). He focused his research on the role of dendritic cells subsets in cutaneous inflammatory diseases and skin cancer in both human and mice. In 2019, Dr Baptiste Janela joined A*STAR Skin research Lab (A*SRL) where he is now leading his own group of research which focus on skin immunology research. He is also the head of the skin immuno-monitoring platform at the Skin Research Institute of Singapore (SRIS). In 2021, Dr Baptiste Janela joined the A*STAR Infectious Diseases Labs as an Adjunct Investigator. 

Research Focus 

Dr Baptiste Janela’s laboratory focus on the understanding and deciphering the role and specific functions of the antigen-presenting cells (APC) in skin health and diseases notably atopic dermatitis, autoimmune bullous diseases (AIBDs), drug hypersensitivity, skin bacterial infection, tissue regeneration and skin cancer. As APC biology is at the centre of the immune response in skin diseases and beyond, it provides promising target for next-generation immunotherapies. Our approach integrates the application and development of new methods that take advantage of the combination of high dimensional flow cytometry, single cell RNA sequencing analysis and skin imaging. The Janela’s laboratory has also developed a programme focusing on the analysis of autoreactive B cells in AIBDs in close collaboration with clinicians in Singapore and overseas. With the use of innovative analytic tools and technologies, we will uncover activated pathways and exclusive marker(s) expressed by autoreactive B cells in AIBDs. These discoveries will permit to improve diagnostic accuracy and allow the development of new-targeted therapies for AIBDs. Finally, we are also involved in advanced research in tissue engineering by developing immunocompetent 3D skin equivalents from induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs).

Publications 

  • Lim Y.L, Bohelay G, Hanakawa S, Musette P, Janela B. Autoimmune Pemphigus: Latest Advances and Emerging Therapies. Front Mol Biosci. 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.808536].
  • Nakamizo S, Dutertre C.A, Khalilnezhad A, Zhang X.M, Lim S, Lum J, Koh G, Foong C, Yong P.J, Tan K.J, Sato R, Tomari K, Yvan-Charvet L, He H, Guttman-Yassky E, Malleret B, Shibuya R, Iwata M, Janela B, Goto T, Lucinda T.S, Tang M.B.Y, Theng C, Julia V, Hacini-Rachinel F, Kabashima K, Ginhoux F. Single cell analysis of human skin identifies CD14+ type 3 dendritic cells co-producing IL1B and IL23A in psoriasis. J Exp Med. 2021. [DOI: 10.1084/jem.20202345].
  • Janela B, Patel AA, Lau MC, Goh CC, Msallam R, Kong WT, Fehlings M, Hubert S, Lum J, Simoni Y, Malleret B, Zolezzi F, Chen J, Poidinger M, Satpathy AT, Briseno C, Wohn C, Malissen B, Murphy KM, Maini AA, Vanhoutte L, Guilliams M, Vial E, Hennequin L, Newell E, Ng LG, Musette P, Yona S, Hacini-Rachinel F, Ginhoux F. A Subset of Type I Conventional Dendritic Cells Controls Cutaneous Bacterial Infections through VEGFα-Mediated Recruitment of Neutrophils. Immunity. 2019 Apr 16;50(4):1069-1083.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2019.03.001. Epub 2019 Mar 27. PMID: 30926233.
  • Janela B, Bensussan A, Thonnart N, Bagot M, Musette P, Ginhoux F, Marie-Cardine A. Identification of CD39 as a Marker for the Circulating Malignant T-Cell Clone of Sézary Syndrome Patients. J Invest Dermatol. 2019 Mar;139(3):725-728. doi: 10.1016/j.jid.2018.09.026. Epub 2018 Oct 25. PMID: 30798854.
  • McGovern N, Schlitzer A, Janela B, Ginhoux F. Protocols for the Identification and Isolation of Antigen-Presenting Cells in Human and Mouse Tissues. Methods Mol Biol. 2016;1423:169-80. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-3606-9_12. PMID: 27142016.
  • Musette P, Janela B. New Insights into Drug Reaction with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms Pathophysiology. Front Med (Lausanne). 2017 Dec 4;4:179. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2017.00179. PMID: 29255708; PMCID: PMC5722807.
  • Janela B, Picard D, Descamps V, D'Incan M, Courville P, Jacquot S, Rogez S, Mardivirin L, Moins-Teisserenc H, Toubert A, Benichou J, Joly P, Musette P. Drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS): a multiorgan antiviral T cell response. Sci Transl Med. 2010 Aug 25;2(46):46ra62. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3001116. PMID: 20739682.

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