Jorgesotor

My name is Jorge Soto Ramírez, I am a Biotechnologist graduated in 2012 from the Santo Tomás University, where my interest in immunology began. During my undergraduate studies, I began my thesis at the Public Health Institute of Chile, in the Biotechnology Section under the tuition of Dr. Abel Vásquez, with whom I worked on the development of a prototype vaccine against Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS) and the development of a detection kit against this same pathogen under the FONDEF D10I1202 project.
Later, in 2014 I entered the doctoral program in Biological Sciences. Molecular Genetic Mention and Microbiology of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Here I started working with Dr. Alexis Kalergis on different projects within which, I ended up evaluating the humoral immune response induced by two recombinant vaccines against the human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human metapneumovirus (MPV). This work allowed me to be awarded at the International Congress of Immunology ALAI 2018 and be considered with the distinction of “Merito” in the congress organized by the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS) 2019. In addition, during this process, I was able to participate in the development of the first clinical study conducted in Chile to evaluate a vaccine against RSV.
In October 2018, I obtained my Ph.D. degree in Biological Sciences and in January 2019 I awarded my Postdoctoral FONDECYT with the first place on the table, under the direction of Dr. Susan Bueno. My current interests are focused on immunology, more specifically on understanding how respiratory pathogens can modulate an inefficient immune response in the host, suppressing the adaptive immune response (current postdoctoral project)

EDUCATION

1. Postdoctoral Researcher in Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. 2019 to date.
2. PhD in Biological Science. Mention in Molecular Genetic and Microbiology. Pontifical Catholic University of to 2018.
3. Master’s degree in Biological Science. Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. 2014 to 2015.
4. Biotechnology degree. Santo Tomás University. 2007 to 2012.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

My interests are focused on the study of immunology and the development of vaccines and therapies. However, thanks to this, the study of B cells and how they can be stimulated for maturation and differentiation to plasma or memory cells has become one of my main interests today.

Publications

1. Jorge A. Soto, Diego A. Diaz-Dinamarca, Daniel A. Soto, Magaly J. Barrientos, Flavio Carrion, Alexis Kalergis, Abel Vasquez. Cellular immune response induced by Surface Immunogenic Protein with AbISCO-100 adjuvant vaccination decreases Group B Streptococcus vaginal colonization. Mol Immunol. 2019 Jul;111:198-204. doi: 10.1016/j..
2. Benavente FM, Soto JA, Pizarro-Ortega MS, Bohmwald K, González PA, Bueno SM, Kalergis AM. Contribution of IDO to human respiratory syncytial virus infection. J Leukoc Biol. 2019 May 15. doi: 10.1002/.
3. Acevedo OA, Díaz FE, Beals TE, Benavente FM, Soto JA, Escobar-Vera J, González PA, Kalergis AM. Contribution of Fcγ Receptor-Mediated Immunity to the Pathogenesis Caused by the Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2019 Mar 29;9:75. doi: 10.3389/.
4. Jorge A. Soto1, Nicolás M. S. Galvez1, Claudia A. Rivera1, Christian E. Palavecino1, Pablo F. Céspedes1, Emma Rey-Jurado1, Susan M. Bueno1, Alexis M. Kalergis*1,2. Recombinant BCG vaccines reduce pneumovirus-caused airway pathology by inducing protective cellular and humoral immunity. Front Immunol. 2018 Dec 6;9:2875. doi: 10.3389/.
5. Jorge A Soto, Nicolas M Galvez, Felipe M Benavente, Magdalena S Pizarro-Ortega,Margarita Kam-Lem Lay, Claudia Riedel, Susan M Bueno, Pablo Alberto Gonzalez, Alexis M Kalergis*. Human Metapneumovirus: mechanisms and molecular targets used by the virus to avoid the immune system. Front Immunol. 2018 Oct 24;9:2466. doi: 10.3389/
6. Diaz-Dinamarca DA, Ibañez FJ, Soto DA, Soto JA, Cespedes PF, Muena NA, Garate DS, Kalergis AM, Vasquez AE. Immunization with a Mixture of Nucleoprotein from Human Metapneumovirus and AbISCO-100 Adjuvant Reduces Viral Infection in Mice Model. Viral Immunol. 2018 May;31(4):306-314. doi: 10.1089/. Epub 2018 Jan 26.
7. Díaz-Dinamarca DA1,2, Jerias JI1, Soto DA1, Soto JA1,2, Díaz NV1, Leyton YY1, Villegas RA3, Kalergis AM2,4, Vásquez AE5,6. The Optimisation of the Expression of Recombinant Surface Immunogenic Protein of Group B Streptococcus in Escherichia coli by Response Surface Methodology Improves Humoral Immunity. Mol Biotechnol. 2018 Mar;60(3):215-225. doi: 10.1007/s12033-018-0065-8.
8. Magdalena S. Pizarro-Ortega1 , Angelo T. Castiglione1 , Nicolás MS. Gálvez1, Jorge A. Soto1 , Natalia Muñoz-Durango1 y Alexis M. Kalergis1,2.Current context of the disease caused for VRSh and development of new treatments. Revista del Instituto de Salud Pública de Chile. RISPCH, Volumen N°1, Número N°1, Año 2017.
9. Gálvez NMS1, Soto JA1, Kalergis AM3,4. New Insights Contributing to the Development of Effective Vaccines and Therapies to Reduce the Pathology Caused by hRSV. Int J Mol Sci. 2017.
10. Rey-jurado E, Soto J, Gálvez N, Kalergis AM. A safe and efficient BCG vectored vaccine to prevent the disease caused by the humanRespiratory Syncytial Virus. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2017.
11. Andrea E. González, Margarita K. Lay, Evelyn L. Jara, Janyra A. Espinoza, Roberto S. Gómez, Jorge Soto, Claudia A. Rivera, Katia Abarca, Susan M. Bueno, Claudia A. Riedel, Alexis M. Kalergis. Aberrant T cell immunity triggered by human Respiratory Syncytial Virus and human Metapneumovirus infection. Virulence. 2017.
12. Rubio DP1, Roa LG2, Soto DA1, Velasquez FJ1, Gregorcic NA1, Soto JA3, Martinez MC4, Kalergis AM5, Vasquez AE6. Purification and characterization of saxitoxin from Mytilus chilensis of southern Chile. Toxicon. 2015

GRANT DETAILS

Funding Agency: FONDECYT
Date: March 2019- March 2022
Role: Postdoctoral Research
Title: Contribution of Myeloid Derived Suppressor Cells (MDSC) in the lung pathology induced by the human metapneumovirus (hMPV) infection

INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

1. Assistant Research in the project “FONDEF D10I1202”. Biotechnology Section. Department of Environmental Health. Institute of Public Health of Chile. 2012 al 2014.
2.. Assistant Research in the project “CORFO 11IEI-12861”. Virbac-Centrovet Ltda. 2012 al 2014.