Rafael Di Marco Barros received his MBPhD from University College London, where he conducted doctoral research in Adrian Hayday’s Immunosurveillance Laboratory (2012–2016). His PhD work identified a pivotal role for enterocyte-expressed Btnl1 in regulating the development and maintenance of Vγδ intraepithelial T cells.

During his residency at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, Rafael undertook postdoctoral research in Menna Clatworthy’s Tissue Immunity Laboratory at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. There, he investigated how mucosal immune challenges shape the composition and effector phenotype of meningeal CD4⁺ T-cell populations.

In 2023, Rafael commenced speciality training in Medical Oncology. In 2025, he joined the Wu Laboratory at King’s College London as an NIHR Clinical Lecturer, where his research focuses on the role of tissue-resident Vδ1⁺ T cells in modulating responses to immune checkpoint blockade.