Eliseo F. Castillo, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology (Department of Internal Medicine). Dr. Castillo received his Ph.D. in Immunology from The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center under Dr. Kimberly Schluns deciphering the role of Interleukin-15 in NK cell and iNKT cell biology. He then did a postdoctoral fellowship at UNM HSC under Dr. Vojo Deretic determining the function of the autophagy gene, Atg5, in macrophages in balancing infection and inflammation. In 2017, he started his lab as a CTSC KL2 Scholar in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology (Internal Medicine) to understand how intestinal macrophages regulate the balance between intestinal homeostasis and inflammation in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract (P20 GM121176) and how environmental particulates, such as microplastics (R01 ES032037) and heavy metals (P42 ES025589), affect GI health. Recently published work from his lab showed how Atg5 in intestinal macrophages controls IL-12 secretion and intestinal homeostasis (PMID: 34374750) and how microplastics alter the cellular metabolism of macrophages (PMID: 34021430). Additionally, the lab has a strong interest in diseases such as metabolic syndrome (PMID: 35629938) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.