Carolina Lucas, PhD
Assistant ProfessorDownloadHi-Res Photo
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Immunobiology
Primary
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Affiliated Faculty, Center for Infection and Immunity
Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
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Appointments
Immunobiology
Primary
Additional Titles
Affiliated Faculty, Center for Infection and Immunity
Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
Contact Info
Appointments
Immunobiology
Primary
Additional Titles
Affiliated Faculty, Center for Infection and Immunity
Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
Contact Info
About
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Assistant Professor
Affiliated Faculty, Center for Infection and Immunity; Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
Biography
Carolina Lucas PhD is an Assistant Professor of Immunobiology and a member of the Center for Infection and Immunity at Yale University. She received her Ph.D. from UFRJ/ETH in Brazil and Switzerland and completed her postdoctoral training at Yale in Dr. Akiko Iwasaki Lab studying emerging virus pathogenesis, including Zika virus, CHIKV and SARS-CoV-2. The Lucas Lab is dedicated to understanding basic immune mechanisms necessary for controlling emerging viral infections and to lay the groundwork for new therapeutic approaches and vaccination strategies. Specifically, the lab explores immune responses following vaccination or infection that contribute to both resistance and disease tolerance mechanisms across different age groups.
Last Updated on May 17, 2025.
Appointments
Immunobiology
Assistant ProfessorPrimary
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Overview
Medical Research Interests
Adaptive Immunity; Aging; DNA Virus Infections; Immunity; Immunity, Innate; Immunity, Mucosal; Infectious Disease Medicine; RNA Virus Infections; Virology
Public Health Interests
Aging; Emerging Infectious Diseases; Global Health
ORCID
0000-0003-4590-2756
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Carolina Lucas, PhD's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Carolina Lucas, PhD's research output by year.
Research Interests
Research topics Carolina Lucas, PhD is interested in exploring.
Akiko Iwasaki, PhD
Albert Ko, MD
Nathan Grubaugh, PhD
Chantal Vogels, PhD
Inci Yildirim, MD, PhD, MSc
Benjamin Goldman-Israelow, MD, PhD
28Publications
2,476Citations
Adaptive Immunity
Aging
Immunity
Immunity, Innate
Publications
2025
A modular vaccine platform for optimized lipid nanoparticle mRNA immunogenicity
Fang Z, Monteiro V, Oh C, Janabi K, Romero L, Ahsan N, Yang L, Peng L, DiMaio D, Lucas C, Chen S. A modular vaccine platform for optimized lipid nanoparticle mRNA immunogenicity. Nature Biomedical Engineering 2025, 1-16. PMID: 40855125, DOI: 10.1038/s41551-025-01478-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsModular vaccine platformCell surface translocationImmune responseMpox virusVaccine platformMRNA vaccinesVaricella zoster virus glycoproteinLethal viral challengeDevelopment of mRNA vaccinesInsufficient immune responseAntigen expressionProteins E6Surface expressionMRNA immunogenicityMultiple cell linesViral challengeAntigenMultiple antigensCell linesAntigenic epitopesChimeric antigenVirus glycoproteinImmunogenicityMRNASurface translocationImpact of COVID-19 vaccination on symptoms and immune phenotypes in vaccine-naïve individuals with Long COVID
Grady C, Bhattacharjee B, Silva J, Jaycox J, Lee L, Silva Monteiro V, Sawano M, Massey D, Caraballo C, Gehlhausen J, Tabachnikova A, Mao T, Lucas C, Peña-Hernandez M, Xu L, Tzeng T, Takahashi T, Herrin J, Güthe D, Akrami A, Assaf G, Davis H, Harris K, McCorkell L, Schulz W, Griffin D, Wei H, Ring A, Guan L, Dela Cruz C, Krumholz H, Iwasaki A. Impact of COVID-19 vaccination on symptoms and immune phenotypes in vaccine-naïve individuals with Long COVID. Communications Medicine 2025, 5: 163. PMID: 40346201, PMCID: PMC12064684, DOI: 10.1038/s43856-025-00829-3.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsSpike protein-specific IgGProtein-specific IgGSelf-antigensImmune response to COVID-19 vaccinationCOVID-19 vaccineAntibody responseResponse to COVID-19 vaccinationT cell expansionSARS-CoV-2-specific antibody responsesAssociated with no improvementLong COVIDAssociated with symptom improvementChest painCirculating cytokinesImmune phenotypeProspective studyImmune featuresTransient improvementPrimary seriesVaccine doseHerpes virusImmune responseSymptom improvementSignificant elevationImpact of COVID-19 vaccinationThe impact of orthopoxvirus vaccination and Mpox infection on cross-protective immunity: a multicohort observational study
Crandell J, Monteiro V, Pischel L, Fang Z, Conde L, Zhong Y, Lawres L, de Asis G, Maciel G, Zaleski A, Lira G, Higa L, Breban M, Vogels C, Caria J, Pinto A, Almeida V, Maltez F, Cordeiro R, Póvoas D, Grubaugh N, Aoun-Barakat L, Grifoni A, Sette A, Castineiras T, Chen S, Yildirim I, Vale A, Omer S, Lucas C. The impact of orthopoxvirus vaccination and Mpox infection on cross-protective immunity: a multicohort observational study. The Lancet Microbe 2025, 6: 101098. PMID: 40311645, DOI: 10.1016/j.lanmic.2025.101098.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsT cellsAntigenic distanceMpox virusBreadth of immune responsesSmallpox vaccineThird-generation smallpox vaccineImmune responseObservational studyCross-reactive immune responsesT cell cross-reactivityT cell memoryT cell responsesImmune memory responseVaccina virusCross-neutralising activityFc-mediated functionsMucosal humoral responsesVirus neutralisation titresCross-reactive responsesCross-protectionCross-protective immunityCowpox virusNeutralising antibody titresAntibody effector functionsEffector functions
2024
The Benjamin Button effect on stem cells: Reversing the clock on aging immunity.
Conde L, Lucas C. The Benjamin Button effect on stem cells: Reversing the clock on aging immunity. Science Immunology 2024, 9: eadq0013. PMID: 38701191, DOI: 10.1126/sciimmunol.adq0013.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetric
2023
Distinguishing features of long COVID identified through immune profiling
Klein J, Wood J, Jaycox J, Dhodapkar R, Lu P, Gehlhausen J, Tabachnikova A, Greene K, Tabacof L, Malik A, Silva Monteiro V, Silva J, Kamath K, Zhang M, Dhal A, Ott I, Valle G, Peña-Hernández M, Mao T, Bhattacharjee B, Takahashi T, Lucas C, Song E, McCarthy D, Breyman E, Tosto-Mancuso J, Dai Y, Perotti E, Akduman K, Tzeng T, Xu L, Geraghty A, Monje M, Yildirim I, Shon J, Medzhitov R, Lutchmansingh D, Possick J, Kaminski N, Omer S, Krumholz H, Guan L, Dela Cruz C, van Dijk D, Ring A, Putrino D, Iwasaki A. Distinguishing features of long COVID identified through immune profiling. Nature 2023, 623: 139-148. PMID: 37748514, PMCID: PMC10620090, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06651-y.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsLong COVIDSARS-CoV-2Infection syndromeExaggerated humoral responseSoluble immune mediatorsEpstein-Barr virusPost-exertional malaiseCross-sectional studyHigher antibody responseImmune mediatorsImmune phenotypingImmune profilingHumoral responseAntibody responseLymphocyte populationsCOVID statusUnbiased machineCortisol levelsLC statusRelevant biomarkersViral pathogensSyndromeCOVIDFuture studiesBiological featuresCytokinopathy with aberrant cytotoxic lymphocytes and profibrotic myeloid response in SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine–associated myocarditis
Barmada A, Klein J, Ramaswamy A, Brodsky N, Jaycox J, Sheikha H, Jones K, Habet V, Campbell M, Sumida T, Kontorovich A, Bogunovic D, Oliveira C, Steele J, Hall E, Pena-Hernandez M, Monteiro V, Lucas C, Ring A, Omer S, Iwasaki A, Yildirim I, Lucas C. Cytokinopathy with aberrant cytotoxic lymphocytes and profibrotic myeloid response in SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine–associated myocarditis. Science Immunology 2023, 8: eadh3455-eadh3455. PMID: 37146127, PMCID: PMC10468758, DOI: 10.1126/sciimmunol.adh3455.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsMRNA vaccinesSARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccinesSARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccinationC-reactive protein levelsB-type natriuretic peptidePeripheral blood mononuclear cellsCardiac tissue inflammationDeep immune profilingSerum soluble CD163Vaccine-associated myocarditisCohort of patientsBlood mononuclear cellsCytotoxic T cellsLate gadolinium enhancementHypersensitivity myocarditisElevated troponinMRNA vaccinationImaging abnormalitiesNK cellsImmune profilingKiller cellsMyeloid responseNatriuretic peptideHumoral mechanismsInflammatory cytokinesEnhanced inhibition of MHC-I expression by SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants
Moriyama M, Lucas C, Monteiro V, Initiative Y, Iwasaki A, Chen N, Breban M, Hahn A, Pham K, Koch T, Chaguza C, Tikhonova I, Castaldi C, Mane S, De Kumar B, Ferguson D, Kerantzas N, Peaper D, Landry M, Schulz W, Vogels C, Grubaugh N. Enhanced inhibition of MHC-I expression by SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2023, 120: e2221652120. PMID: 37036977, PMCID: PMC10120007, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2221652120.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsMHC-I expressionBreakthrough infectionsSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variantsMajor histocompatibility complex class I expressionCell-mediated immunityInfluenza virus infectionSARS-CoV-2 VOCsMHC-I upregulationClass I expressionSARS-CoV-2T cell recognitionVirus infectionMHC II expressionSpike proteinEnhanced inhibitionInfectionCell recognitionCommon mutationsReinfectionE proteinAntibodiesViral genesSubvariantsExpressionNonsystematic Reporting Biases of the SARS-CoV-2 Variant Mu Could Impact Our Understanding of the Epidemiological Dynamics of Emerging Variants
Petrone M, Lucas C, Menasche B, Breban M, Yildirim I, Campbell M, Omer S, Holmes E, Ko A, Grubaugh N, Iwasaki A, Wilen C, Vogels C, Fauver J. Nonsystematic Reporting Biases of the SARS-CoV-2 Variant Mu Could Impact Our Understanding of the Epidemiological Dynamics of Emerging Variants. Genome Biology And Evolution 2023, 15: evad052. PMID: 36974986, PMCID: PMC10113931, DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evad052.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricSARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines decouple anti-viral immunity from humoral autoimmunity
Jaycox J, Lucas C, Yildirim I, Dai Y, Wang E, Monteiro V, Lord S, Carlin J, Kita M, Buckner J, Ma S, Campbell M, Ko A, Omer S, Lucas C, Speake C, Iwasaki A, Ring A. SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines decouple anti-viral immunity from humoral autoimmunity. Nature Communications 2023, 14: 1299. PMID: 36894554, PMCID: PMC9996559, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36686-8.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsVaccine-associated myocarditisAutoimmune patientsAutoantibody reactivitySARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccinationVaccine-related adverse effectsSARS-CoV-2 immunitySARS-CoV-2 infectionAcute COVID-19Development of autoantibodiesCOVID-19 patientsAnti-viral immunityVirus-specific antibodiesCOVID-19 vaccineCOVID-19Humoral autoimmunityMRNA vaccinationAutoantibody responsePost vaccinationAutoantibody developmentAutoimmune diseasesHumoral responseHealthy individualsPatientsAntigen profilingAdverse effectsPolyvalent mRNA vaccination elicited potent immune response to monkeypox virus surface antigens
Fang Z, Monteiro V, Renauer P, Shang X, Suzuki K, Ling X, Bai M, Xiang Y, Levchenko A, Booth C, Lucas C, Chen S. Polyvalent mRNA vaccination elicited potent immune response to monkeypox virus surface antigens. Cell Research 2023, 33: 407-410. PMID: 36879038, PMCID: PMC9988199, DOI: 10.1038/s41422-023-00792-5.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetric
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