Burcu Ayoglu

Short CV:

• 2024: Docent in Systems Immunology, KTH, Stockholm, Sweden

• Since 2018: SciLifeLab Group Leader, KTH-SciLifeLab, Div. of Cellular & Clinical Proteomics, Dept. of Protein Science, Stockholm, Sweden

• 2015 - 2018: KAW Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Immunology, Stanford Univ., Div. of Immunology & Rheumatology, Dept. of Medicine, School of Medicine, CA, USA

• 2010 - 2015: Ph.D. in Biotechnology, KTH School of Biotech., Stockholm, Sweden.Dissertation title: “Affinity arrays for profiling proteins and autoantibody repertoires”

• 2007 - 2009: M.Sc. in Medical Biotechnology, KTH School of Biotech., Stockholm, Sweden.Thesis title: “Plasma profiling with antibody suspension bead arrays for identification of multiple sclerosis biomarkers”

• 2003-2007: B.Sc. in Biochemical Engineering, Bogazici University, Istanbul, Turkey

Research Overview:

We are interested in how molecular and cellular immune features manifest in the spatial context of human tissues in both health and disease. We study non-diseased lymphoid and visceral tissues across life stages to define the baseline organization of immune cells in health. In parallel, we investigate how inflammation structurally and functionally reshapes tissue architecture in relation to key biological processes such as organ development, autoimmunity, or neurodegeneration.

We are also interested in understanding how local, tissue-resident immune activity relates to systemic immune features. Determining how immune dynamics within tissues correspond to, or diverge from, what is detected in circulation is essential for translating spatial insights into clinically meaningful outcomes.

To address these questions, we primarily use multiplexed, antibody-based proteomics, including custom-designed, high-dimensional immunofluorescence microscopy assays that generate single-cell resolved protein maps of tissues. We are increasingly integrating our in-house developed spatial proteomics assays with other omics readouts to build a multi-dimensional view of tissue organization and immune activity.

Through this work, we aim to improve how the human immune system is understood, not only as a circulating system observed in blood, but as a spatially organized, tissue-embedded network that plays a central role in human development, homeostasis, and disease.

Research interests in keywords:

• Proteomics

• Systems immunology

• Spatial biology

• Single-cell analysis

• Spatial immunology

• Inflammation

Research funding:

• Region Stockholm HMT 2026 (2026-2027)

• Hjärnfonden - Swedish Brain Foundation (2025-2026)

• Karolinska Institutet StratNeuro Collaborative Neuroscience Grant (2025-2027)

• KAW Project Grant (2023-2028)

• VR - Swedish Research Council Starting Grant (2023-2027)

• VR - Swedish Research Council Research Environment Grant (2022-2028)

• Diabetesfonden (2022)

• SciLifeLab Technology Development Grant (2019-2020)

• Åke Wibergs Foundation (2018-2020)

• Tore Nilsons Foundation (2018-2020)

• KAW Repatriation Fellowship (2018-2020)

• KAW Postdoctoral Fellowship for Stanford University (2015-2017)

Selected publications:

• Sariyar S., Sountoulidis A., Hansen J.N., Marco Salas S., Mardamshina M., Martinez Casals A., Ballllosera Navarro F., Andrusivova Z., Li X., Czarnewski P., Lundeberg J., Linnarsson S., Nilsson M., Sundström E., Samakovlis C., Lundberg E.*,Ayoglu. B*. (2024) High-parametric protein maps reveal the spatial organization in early-developing human lung.Nature Communications.15(1):9381
• Sountoulidis A.*, Salas S.M.*, Braun E., Avenel C., Bergenstråhle J., Theelke J., Vicari M., Czarnewski P., Liontos A., Abalo X., Andrusivova Z., Mirzazadeh R., Asp M., Li X., Hu L., Sariyar S., Casals A.M.,Ayoglu B., Firsova A., Michaelsson J., Lundberg E., Wählby C., Sundström E., Linnarsson S., Lundeberg J., Nilsson M., Samakovlis C. (2023) A topographic atlas defines developmental origins of cell heterogeneity in the human embryonic lung.Nature Cell Biology. 25(2):351-365
• Mahdessian D.*, Cesnik A.J.*, Gnann C., Danielsson F., Stenström L., Arif M., Zhang C., Schutten R., Bäckström A., Axelsson U., Thul P., Cho N.H., Carja O., Uhlén M., Mardinoglu A., Stadler C., Lindskog C.,Ayoglu B., Leonetti M., Ponten F., Sullivan D., Lundberg E. (2021) Spatiotemporal dissection of the cell cycle with single-cell proteogenomics.Nature,590(7847):649-654.
• Sng J.,Ayoglu B., Chen J., Schickel J.-N., Ferre E.M., Glauzy S., Romberg N., Hoenig M., Cunningham-Rundles C., Utz P.J., Lionakis M.S., Meffre E. (2019) AIRE expression controls the peripheral selection of autoreactive B cells.Science Immunology, 4(34): eaav6778.
• Degn S.E., van der Poel C.E.*, Firl D.J.*,Ayoglu B., Al Qureshah F.A., Bajic G., Mesin L., Reynaud C.A., Weill J.C., Utz P.J., Victora G.D., Carroll M.C. (2017) Clonal evolution of autoreactive germinal centers.Cell, 170(5):913-926.e19.
• Ayoglu B., Mitsios N., Kockum I., Khademi M., Zandian A., Sjöberg R., Forsström B., Bredenberg J., Lima Bomfim I., Holmgren E., Grönlund H. ,Guerreiro-Cacais A. O., Abdelmagid N., Uhlén M., Waterboer T., Alfredsson L., Mulder J., Schwenk J. M., Olsson T., Nilsson P. (2016) Anoctamin 2 identified as an autoimmune target in multiple sclerosis.PNAS,113(8):2188-2193.