The Mice that Roar (like humans)

Mice that mimic “human” reactions to pharmaceuticals can be life-saving in drug tests for vaccines (such as COVID), cancer, autoimmunity issues, and more.  Dr. Paolo Casali, a research professor at the University of Texas, has developed cutting-edge methods to produce such mice, and explains to the Forum what purpose they service, what complications may arise, and what ethical issues are raised by these rodents.

Interview by Claudia Flisi, Washington D.C. Correspondent, US-Italy Global Affair Forum

Paolo Casali, MD, University of Texas Ashbel Smith Professor and Distinguished Research Professor Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics – Professor of Medicine The University of Texas Long School of Medicine

BIOGRAPHY

The aim of the multi-year project, which appears in the August 2024 issue of Nature Immunology, was to overcome limitations of currently available in vivo human models by creating a humanized mouse with a fully developed and functional human immune system.

PRESS RELEASE

Claudia Flisi 

She is Us-Italy Global Affair Forum Correspondent. She is a bicultural freelance writer based in Washington DC. Her stories have appeared in the International New York Times, Newsweek, Variety, Fortune, The Economist Intelligence Unit, airline magazines, and many others.   She headed the Johns Hopkins alumni association in Milan for a decade, and has been active in SAIS alumni affairs.  She has visited more than 100 countries, fallen off horses on six continents, and trained dogs in three languages.