Congratulations Eugenio Contreras Castillo, ICIS-Pfizer Junior Investigator Award Winner at Cytokines 2024

Eugenio Contreras Castillo was born in Puebla, Mexico. He studied biology and is now a 5th-year PhD student at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He works in the lab of Paula Licona-Limón, focusing on understanding the molecular mechanisms that drive Treg stability upon TGF-beta signaling. He has also gained experience from studying at institutes such as UCLA and the University of Minho in Braga, Portugal. Eugenio is strongly committed to creating spaces for the equitable and inclusive discussion of science. He is the founder of Public Journal Club¹ and the non-profit Open Box Science² Additionally, he hosts the Antibuddies Podcast³. After his PhD, he plans to continue his training in understanding neuroimmune interactions, particularly how external cues regulate anticipatory immune responses to threats. Outside of academia, he enjoys cinema, dancing, and nature. 

Cytokines 2024 Abstract Presentation (session TBD): “Tif1g regulates stability of regulatory T cells during inflammation”

1. Public Journal Club – Although it is not  active at the moment (it was very active during the pandemic), the idea and mission were to promote free and open scientific discussion. We were mostly PhD students and undergrads from Mexico, discussing a paper online every week, and inviting the first and last authors to answer questions from the students. The papers we discussed were from various institutions worldwide. These sessions were very empowering for students and me, as we often didn’t have many opportunities to discuss science directly with the authors unless attending conferences. Asking questions and realizing that you have similar ideas to researchers from prestigious universities was very empowering. Since most attendees were students, they were not shy about asking questions. Some attendees, mostly Latin American students, reached out to the authors later and joined their labs for postdocs or as research assistants. This project opened opportunities for many students and with support would continue to benefit especially students from under funded universities. The idea was liked by many students, and later people joined from Brazil, Peru and India which led to the creation of branches in developmental biology, neurobiology, and computational biology. We are currently looking to establish this in other organizations, as it is a superb platform for educational purposes.

   x: @publicjournalc (Immunology)
   @PJCneurobiology 
   @PJCDevBio
   @PJCCompBio

2. Open Box Science – This is the project I am most active in at the moment. We organize online seminars where we invite first authors, mostly postdocs and PhD students, who are looking to take the next steps in their careers. We aim to give them visibility. I am in charge of organizing Immunology seminars, but we also have sessions on Cancer Biology, Genomics, and Neuroscience. OBS is open to anyone interested in presenting or organizing. We look for trainees, mostly PhD students, to moderate sessions and gain skills in this area. Here is an example of one of our seminars: Open Box Science Seminar. 
   Web Page https://openboxscience.com/
   X: @Openboxsci
   Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/75548174/
3. Antibuddies Podcast – We discuss papers with the authors. Here is more about the podcast: Antibuddies Podcast.
   • X: @antibuddiesp 
   • Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/antibuddies/mycompany/