Christina Zielinski is an immunologist at the University of Cambridge, where she serves as Professor of Infection and Immunity. She trained as a dermatologist at the Charité in Berlin. Christina is an alumna of the first ESDR Future Leaders Academy in 2011. This event kick-started her translational research career in the field of skin immunity and in human T cell regulation in health and disease. Her contributions to the characterization of human Th17 cells and the discovery of novel T helper cell functions and their modulation by the tissue microenvironment have received global attention and have been awarded with numerous research awards, such as the German Atopic Dermatitis Prize, the Paul Langerhans Preis, the Oscar Gans Preis and an ERC CoG Award. Her scientific leadership and mentorship reflect the FLA mission to shape the future of academic skin research.