Helena Batatinha
Bio & Education
Dr. Batatinha is an exercise physiologist and immunologist whose research focuses on understanding how physical activity influences the immune system. Her work aims to: 1) Investigate how acute and chronic exercise modulates immune cells function to enhance anti-tumor immunity. 2) Explore how fitness level, body composition and chronic diseases, such as obesity and diabetes, may alter immune cells metabolism. Dr. Batatinha’s ultimate goal is to develop exercise interventions that support immune function and improve recovery outcomes in cancer patients.
Dr. Batatinha earn her doctorate from the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil. She then moved to the United States to complete her postdoctoral training at the University of Arizona, where she conducted pre-clinical studies investigating the effects of exercise on immune cells mobilization and anti-tumor capacity. Dr. Batatinha is a member of the American College of Sports Medicina and the International Society of Exercise Immunology.
Courses Taught
- KIN 468 (Exercise Assessment, Testing, and Prescription for Fitness and Rehabilitation Professionals)
- KIN 670 (Physiology of Exercise)
Selected Publications
Batatinha H, Diak DM, Niemiro GM, Baker FL, Smith KA, Zúñiga TM, Mylabathula PL, Seckeler MD, Lau B, LaVoy EC, Gustafson MP, Katsanis E, Simpson RJ. Human lymphocytes mobilized with exercise have an anti-tumor transcriptomic profile and exert enhanced graft-versus-leukemia effects in xenogeneic mice. Front Immunol. 2023 Apr 3;14:1067369. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1067369. PMID: 37077913; PMCID: PMC10109447.
Batatinha HAP, Biondo LA, Lira FS, Castell LM, Rosa-Neto JC. Nutrients, immune system, and exercise: Where will it take us? Nutrition. 2019 May;61:151-156. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2018.09.019. Epub 2018 Oct 14. PMID: 30711864.
Batatinha HAP, Rosa Neto JC, Krüger K. Inflammatory features of obesity and smoke exposure and the immunologic effects of exercise. Exerc Immunol Rev. 2019;25:96-111. PMID: 30753132.
Smith KA, Batatinha H, Niemiro GM, Baker FL, Zúñiga TM, Diak DM, Mylabathula PL, Kistner TM, Davini D, Hoffman E, Colombo JN, Seckeler MD, Bond RA, Katsanis E, Simpson RJ. Exercise-induced β2-adrenergic receptor activation enhances effector lymphocyte mobilization in humans and suppresses lymphoma growth in mice through NK-cells. Brain Behav Immun. 2025 Aug;128:751-765. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2025.04.040. Epub 2025 Apr 29. PMID: 40311885.
Simpson RJ, Boßlau TK, Weyh C, Niemiro GM, Batatinha H, Smith KA, Krüger K. Exercise and adrenergic regulation of immunity. Brain Behav Immun. 2021 Oct;97:303-318. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2021.07.010. Epub 2021 Jul 21. PMID: 34302965.
Batatinha H, Baker FL, Smith KA, Zúñiga TM, Pedlar CR, Burgess SC, Katsanis E, Simpson RJ. Recent COVID-19 vaccination has minimal effects on the physiological responses to graded exercise in physically active healthy people. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2022 Feb 1;132(2):275-282. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00629.2021. Epub 2021 Dec 9. PMID: 34882029; PMCID: PMC8799387.
Minuzzi LG, Batatinha H, Weyh C, Balasubramanian Lakshmi VS, Fiuza-Luces C, Gálvez BG, Lucia A, Teixeira AM, Sommer N, Rosa-Neto JC, Lira FS, Krüger K. Natural killer cells from endurance-trained older adults show improved functional and metabolic responses to adrenergic blockade and mTOR inhibition. Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 14;15(1):25380. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-06057-y. PMID: 40659656; PMCID: PMC12259902.
Batatinha H, Tavares-Silva E, Leite GSF, Resende AS, Albuquerque JAT, Arslanian C, Fock RA, Lancha AH Jr, Lira FS, Krüger K, Thomatieli-Santos R, Rosa-Neto JC. Probiotic supplementation in marathonists and its impact on lymphocyte population and function after a marathon: a randomized placebo-controlled double-blind study. Sci Rep. 2020 Nov 2;10(1):18777. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-75464-0. PMID: 33139757; PMCID: PMC7608678.
Batatinha HAP, Diniz TA, de Souza Teixeira AA, Krüger K, Rosa-Neto JC. Regulation of autophagy as a therapy for immunosenescence-driven cancer and neurodegenerative diseases: The role of exercise. J Cell Physiol. 2019 Sep;234(9):14883-14895. doi: 10.1002/jcp.28318. Epub 2019 Feb 12. PMID: 30756377.