Biography

Dr. Simone Brioschi is an Assistant Professor at the Center for Neuroimmunology and Glial Biology within the Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine at McGovern Medical School. He completed his undergraduate training in Biotechnology at the University of Milano-Bicocca (Italy) and received his PhD in Biology from the University of Freiburg (Germany) in 2019. He then pursued postdoctoral training at Washington University in St. Louis before being appointed Assistant Professor in 2025. In the same year, he established his laboratory at UTHealth Houston as an independent investigator.

Dr. Brioschi’s research investigates how immune cells of the brain develop and acquire specialized functions within distinct central nervous system (CNS) compartments, including the brain parenchyma, meninges, perivascular spaces, and choroid plexus. His work is focused on brain macrophages, namely microglia and border-associated macrophages (BAMs). He has identified key molecular mechanisms that govern the specification of these immune populations and their communication with neighboring brain cells within their unique microenvironments.

The overarching goal of Dr. Brioschi’s research program is to uncover pathways that orchestrate neuro–immune interactions, which could be leveraged as potential therapeutic targets for neurodegenerative and neurovascular disorders.

Scientific Appointments

2025-present  Assistant Professor, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, USA

2025–2025    Assistant Professor, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, USA

2022-2025    Instructor, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, USA

2018-2022    Postdoc Research Fellow, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, USA

2014-2018    PhD student, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

 

Publications

Selected research publications (*Equal contribution):

Brioschi S*, Belk JA*, Peng V, Molgora M, Rodrigues PF, Nguyen KM, Wang S, Du S, Wang WL, Grajales-Reyes GE, Ponce JM, Yuede CM, Li Q, Baer JM, DeNardo DG, Gilfillan S, Cella M, Satpathy AT, Colonna M. 2023. A Cre-deleter specific for embryo-derived brain macrophages reveals distinct features of microglia and border macrophages. Immunity. 56(5):1027-1045.

Brioschi S*, Wang WL*, Peng V*, Wang M, Shchukina I, Greenberg ZJ, Bando JK, Jaeger N, Czepielewski RS, Swain A, Mogilenko DA, Beatty WL, Bayguinov P, Fitzpatrick JAJ, Schuettpelz LG, Fronick CC, Smirnov I, Kipnis J, Shapiro VS, Wu GF, Gilfillan S, Cella M, Artyomov MN, Kleinstein SH, Colonna M. 2021. Heterogeneity of meningeal B cells reveals a lymphopoietic niche at the CNS borders. Science. 373(6553):eabf9277.

Selected review publications:

Brioschi S, Han CZ, Colonna M. 2025. Drivers and shapers of macrophages specification in the developing brain. Curr Opin Immunol. 94:102558.

Penati S, Brioschi S, Cai Z, Han CZ, Colonna M. 2025. Mechanisms and environmental factors shaping the ecosystem of brain macrophages. Front Immunol. 16:1539988.

Colonna M, Brioschi S. 2020. Neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in human brain at single-cell resolution. Nat Rev Immunol. 20(2):81-82.

Brioschi S, Zhou Y, Colonna M. 2020. Brain Parenchymal and Extraparenchymal Macrophages in Development, Homeostasis, and Disease. J Immunol. 204(2):294-305.