Gustavo Monasterio Ocares | Ph.D. | D.M.D.

Assistant Professor – Principal Investigator (July 2025)

My research focuses on unraveling the physiological circuits connecting different compartments of the gastrointestinal tract and exocrine glands in health and disease. I am particularly curious about how diverse components of the gastrointestinal system interact—especially how salivary glands act as exocrine/endocrine rheostats and immune hubs, adapting the entire gastrointestinal circuitry to dynamic perturbations. My overall goal is to contribute to a more integrated understanding of disorders that affect multiple regions of the gastrointestinal system and beyond. My current work investigates how intestinal diseases influence oral homeostasis, combining insights from oral immunology with advanced spatial biology technologies such as spatial transcriptomics and proteomics.

My journey into research began with a background in clinical dentistry (D.M.D.) from the University of Chile and advanced training in mucosal immunology. During my Ph.D., I studied the immunogenicity and virulence of oral pathogens associated with periodontitis, which sparked my interest in mucosal immunity and host-pathogen interactions. Since joining the Karolinska Institute as a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Eduardo Villablanca’s lab, I have worked extensively with models of intestinal inflammation and colorectal cancer. This experience allowed me to develop expertise in intestinal mucosal immunology/physiology, spatial transcriptomics, proteomics, and advanced animal models, which expanded during my training to salivary gland physiology and immunity.

My work has been supported by several Swedish grants, including those from the Lars Hierta Memorial Foundation, the Loo and Hans Osterman Foundation, and the Swedish Cancer Society (Cancerfonden) Postdoctoral Fellowship, as well as European grants from the Osteology Foundation and the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organization (ECCO) Research Grant 2024. I have also received international recognition, including the 2023 IADR Osteology Foundation New Investigator Award in Oral Tissue Regeneration.

I was recently awarded a Vetenskapsrådet (Swedish Research Council) Starting Grant, which will enable me to establish my independent research group at the Department of Medicine, Solna, Karolinska Institute. My lab will focus on understanding how the gastrointestinal system adapts to dynamic challenges, with the aim of bridging fundamental biology and translational research.