Mauro Corrado graduated at University of Rome "Tor Vergata” (Rome, IT). He then moved to Geneva (CH) for his PhD in the lab of Luca Scorrano, working on the crosstalk between mitochondrial dynamics and autophagy in the context of T cell apoptosis. In 2016, he joined Erika Pearce's lab at the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg where he began to investigate the role of mitochondrial lipid composition in T cell function. In 2021 he started his own independent research programme at CECAD Research Center, University of Cologne, Institute for Genetics. His work is focused on defining and characterising the metabolic determinants of T cell function. He found that mitochondrial membrane lipid plasticity is critical to modulate T cell function in response to antigen-driven and environmental signals. This allows an effective immune surveillance and maintenance of tissue homeostasis while avoiding autoimmunity and inflammation.

Professor Michelangelo Campanella is internationally recognised as an expert in mitochondrial cell biology and pharmacology. His work has enhanced the current understanding of the bioenergetic and dynamic interplay of mitochondria. A recipient of numerous research awards, he was the first to characterise the physiological processes that govern mitochondrial consumption of ATP (i) and the physical interactions between mitochondria and the nucleus that define stress responses (ii). His commitment to biomedical research, academic support, and service to scholars earned him the Paul Harris Fellowship from the Rotary Foundation in 2014 and the Talented Young Italian Award in 2015. In the same year, he was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology. In 2018, he received a Consolidator Award from the European Research Council (ERC) in Life Sciences, and in 2022, he was honoured with the Incoming International Leader in Oncology award from the ARC Foundation.