Dr Marie Di Placido
After completing a Master’s degree in Agronomy, including a research internship on camelid antibodies at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, Marie obtained a PhD in Molecular Immunology in Marseille (CIML), France, where she developed computational models of V(D)J recombination and allelic exclusion. She subsequently undertook a multidisciplinary postdoctoral fellowship in Lisbon-Oeiras (IGC), Portugal, investigating illegitimate DNA rearrangements in T lymphocytes to identify the sequence and epigenetic determinants of off-target activity by the Recombination Activating Genes (RAG).
Marie joined The Pirbright Institute in 2019 as Project Coordinator within the Immunogenetics Group, working on the discovery and characterisation of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV)-specific antibodies as part of a programme funded by the Gates Foundation. She is now Group Leader of the B Cell Dynamics Group.
Her research focuses on understanding how protective antibody responses develop and are maintained in livestock species. Her group combines immunology, antibody discovery, repertoire sequencing, and systems-level approaches to investigate B cell development, antibody repertoire diversification, and vaccine-induced immunity. A major aim of her work is to identify the mechanisms that drive durable and protective humoral immunity in cattle and other livestock species, with the goal of informing the design of improved vaccines and immunological tools.
Selected Publications
Transcription factor expression for identifying B cell subsets in cattle by flow cytometry.
A Customizable Suite of Methods to Sequence and Annotate Cattle Antibodies.
Publications
![Immunological toolbox logo and flyer, showing a colourised scanning electron micrograph of a B cell from a human donor [credit NIAID]](/sites/default/files/styles/max_325x325/public/quick_media/NS19041_immunologocial-toolbox-flyer-02.jpg?itok=I3EcwibP "Immunological toolbox logo and flyer")
Committees
Bioinformatics, Sequencing, and Proteomics Steering Committee (2020-2024)
Flowcytometry Steering Committee (since 2020)
Immunological Toolbox Steering Committee (since 2020)
Conferences
Jan 2026: University of Ghent, Belgium. (Invited speaker)
Oct 2025: GFRA (Global Foot-and-Mouth Disease Research Alliance) Meeting, Istanbul, Turkey. (Best talk award)
Sept 2025: INRAE, Tours, France. (Invited speaker)
Mar 2025: The Roslin Institute, Edinburgh, UK. (Invited speaker)
Feb 2025: INRAE, Jouy-en-Josas, France. (Invited speaker)
Jan 2025: Culture of care and 3Rs meeting, The Pirbright Institute, UK. (Invited speaker)
Nov 2024: IVVN (International Veterinary Vaccinology Network) 2024, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. (Invited speaker)
Sep 2024: Sino Biologicals and One Nucleus Symposium on therapeutic antibody development, The Babraham Institute, Cambridge, UK. (Invited speaker)
Dec 2023: BSI national conference, Dublin, UK. (Poster)
Nov 2023: 13th IVIS (International Veterinary Immunology Symposium) meeting, South Africa. (2 oral presentations, 1 poster)
Sep 2022: BSI (British Society of Immunology) workshop on Single cell sequencing and Immune response, online.
Aug 2021: EVIW (European Veterinary Immunology Workshop) meeting, online.
Aug 2019: 12th IVIS (International Veterinary Immunology Symposium) meeting, Seattle, USA.
2010-2014: SPI (Portuguese Society of Immunology) annual meetings, Portugal. (Posters/Seminar)
Nov 2012: NEFAAC (University of Pharmacy of Coimbra) annual meeting, Coimbra, Portugal. (Seminar)
Jun 2010: IGC-IMM (Instituto de Medecina Molecular) joint meeting, Lisbon, Portugal. (Seminar)
Aug 2009: Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Lisbon, Portugal. (Invited speaker)
May 2009: 96th meeting of the American Association of Immunologists. Seattle, USA. (Informal oral session)
Apr 2007: 2d ENII-MUGEN Immunology Summer School. Capo Caccia, Italy. (Poster)
Feb 2007: Symposium of the Doctoral department of Marseille University. Marseille, France. (Poster)
Sep 2006: 1st joint meeting of European National Societies of Immunology. Paris, France. (Poster)