Paula Araya is an Argentine researcher who earned her PhD in Immunology at the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. At the same university, she had previously completed her undergraduate studies in Biological Chemistry.
Her current workplace is BioLegend. Araya focuses her research on various areas of biology, including cancer biology, molecular biology, and tumor biology. She also explores fields such as cancer immunology.
Her studies address topics such as the tumor microenvironment, tumor proliferation, cell culture, cancer biomarkers, and several issues related to Down syndrome. Her contributions span both national and international contexts.
Araya and Immunology
Immunology is the science that studies the immune system, which includes organs, tissues, and cells that respond to the presence of foreign elements.
This discipline combines medical and biological sciences and examines the mechanisms the body uses to defend itself against infectious diseases.
Araya was part of the Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología (CIBICI) at the Facultad de Ciencias Químicas of the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba.
CIBICI conducts research in three main areas: immunology, cellular and molecular biology (including bacteriology), and ecotoxicology.
The center focuses on human health-related research and conducts studies connected to both biological and medical sciences.
Araya served as an assistant professor at the university and was affiliated with the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET).
Following her education and the early stages of her scientific career in Argentina, Araya became part of the Anschutz Medical Campus at the University of Colorado.
There, she participates in the “Human Trisome Project” at the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome.
In this project, the Argentine researcher is responsible for evaluating the immune profiles of people with Down syndrome and studying the behavior of T cells in individuals with the condition.
Her research utilizes functional in vitro procedures and flow cytometry, a laboratory method also used to identify tumor markers. These markers are substances present in cancerous cells, produced in response to cancer.
Currently, Araya works at BioLegend, a biotechnology company involved in biomedical research, including bioassays and antibody development.
Down Syndrome
One of Araya’s most notable contributions is her research on Down syndrome and her analysis of why people with the condition tend to have hyperreactive immune systems.
Down syndrome is a genetic disorder in which a person has 47 chromosomes instead of the usual 46.
In her research, conducted during her doctoral thesis, Araya explains that the hyperreactive immune system in people with Down syndrome is due to the activity of triplicated genes located on chromosome 21.
Her study examines how these triplicated genes contribute to a state prone to autoimmunity.
The Importance of the Immune System
Araya’s work, which aims to understand why people with Down syndrome are more susceptible to certain diseases while being more protected from cancer, is part of a broader investigation into the immune system.
The immune system’s function is to fight infections and diseases that invade the body. Immune disorders arise from absent or abnormal immune mechanisms and include conditions such as lupus, multiple sclerosis, and myasthenia gravis.
Studying the immune system and analyzing its associated variables is crucial because it protects the body and defends it against harmful or foreign substances.
A properly functioning immune system prevents the development of infections, reduces vulnerability, and responds to components recognized as foreign by the body.
In both Argentina and the United States, Araya continues to contribute to the fields of medical and biological sciences.
Through her research in immunology, she strives to further develop the discipline, especially in understanding the immune responses of individuals with Down syndrome and how such responses may serve as both an advantage and a disadvantage.
