Class of ... – Re-Thinking Health

Class of 2021

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Mechanosensing in macrophages in health and disease

Our lab is interested in analyzing immune cells in the tissue context, using state-of-the art, functional intravital microscopy and histocytometry approaches. In addition to reacting to stimuli from hematopoietic and …

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Immunophenotyping in bullous pemphigoid to identify new therapeutic targets

Our laboratory focuses on the immunological and molecular pathomechanisms of the skin with the aim to identify approaches for personalized and preventive medicine. One group of our translational research interests are chronic …

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Crosstalk between intestinal macrophages and innate lymphoid cells

Our research aims to understand the role of tissue-resident cells of the innate immune system in the prevention of chronic inflammatory diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus and inflammatory bowel disease. Our goal is …

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Group 3 Innate Lymphoid Cells as regulators of intestinal organ hypertrophy in response to increased metabolic demands during pregnancy and lactation

We study development and function of the innate immune system, in particular of innate lymphoid cells (ILC). A current focus is to obtain a molecular understanding of how the innate immune system, by integrating environmental …

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Hannah Nußstein

Membrane-bound neutrophil elastase as a potential biomarker for early detection of chronic inflammatory diseases

Biomarkers play a central role in detecting chronic inflammatory diseases before irreversible tissue damage occurs. These measurable, ideally disease-specific, indicators can be detected in the organism even before the onset …

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The adaptation of the intestinal epithelium to an oxalate-containing diet

Our laboratory focuses on the mechanisms involved in maintaining oxalate homeostasis. Oxalate is a component of various foods, found in different vegetables, nuts, but also in tea and coffee. High urinary oxalate …

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From infection to fibrosis – defining common immune determinants of disease and resolution

Resilience to infections is equally defined by the host’s ability to clear the infecting pathogen and to resolve and mitigate secondary injury, and thus to restore and maintain tissue homeostasis. These physiological …

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Aikaterini Stergioula

NKp46+ ILC control inflammatory responses in lupus nephritis

Our research aims to understand the role of tissue-resident cells of the innate immune system in the prevention of chronic inflammatory diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus and inflammatory bowel disease. Our goal is …

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Karoline F. Troch

Congenital group 2 lymphocytes are a major source of interleukin 5, essential for development and function of B1 cells

Type 2 immune responses promote tissue homeostasis as well as tissue remodeling and protect against infections with macroparasites but can become detrimental when triggered against non-infectious environmental stimuli

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Valentin Vecera

Impact of the microbiome and the immune system on cardiovascular risk in chronic kidney disease

Our laboratory investigates the interaction of dietary factors with the gut microbiota and the host, especially with the host’s immune system, in the context of cardiovascular and renal disease. Arterial hypertension and …

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Characterization of the immune microenvironment in gastrointestinal tumors using single-cell techniques

Our lab studies the role of immune cells and inflammatory processes in the liver. Infiltration and activation of immune cells play an important role during the development of acute and chronic liver diseases, but the exact …

Class of 2022

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The role of DNA damage response signaling in chronic kidney disease

Our research group studies the underlying mechanisms of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Acute and chronic kidney injury has been increasingly recognized as a global public health concern, associated with high morbidity, and …

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The role of the epithelial transcription factor NF-κB in homeostasis, development and regeneration of chronic inflammatory bowel diseases

Our group “Signal Transduction in Health and Disease” (Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Charité Virchow) aims to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in tissue homeostasis, inflammation, and resolution …

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Sören Dethleffs

Characterization of the peripheral immune compartment during fasting in healthy volunteers and MS patients

Diet is an important factor for a healthy life. For the most part of human history, the next meal was not a given. Hence, there was a strong selection pressure for adaptation to periods of no or low food consumption during …

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Constantin Dickel

Role of the oxalate transporter SLC26A6 in maintaining kidney health

Our laboratory focuses on the mechanisms involved in maintaining oxalate homeostasis. Oxalate is a component of various foods and is absorbed via the intestine. High urinary oxalate concentrations lead to kidney stones, the …

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Franziska Fuckert

Investigating the impact of nano- and microplastics on hypertensive disease

Environmental factors such as nutrition but also pollution can significantly influence the health-to-disease transition. The contact of the environment with the human organism, especially at interfaces such as the intestine …

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Role of Oncostatin M in acute pulmonary inflammation

The mammalian gastrointestinal tract contains the largest number of immune cells and harbors a large and diverse population of commensal bacteria that exist in a symbiotic relationship with the host. The gut-resident immune …

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Maximilian Mandry

How does NK cell memory develop in humans?

The innate immune system matures early on along with tissue development. In particular, innate lymphoid cells (ILCs, including Natural Killer (NK) cells, already colonize tissues during fetal life and acquire their effector …

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Alexandr Melnikov

Cellular mechanisms underlying the pathogenetic role of the primary cilium in pulmonary arterial hypertension

Maintenance or restoration of vascular homeostasis are critical determinants of health throughout life. Of late, the primary cilium has been identified as a key regulator of vascular homeostasis and regeneration. While …

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Innate lymphoid cells, IL-22 and liver regeneration

We study development and function of the innate immune system, in particular of innate lymphoid cells (ILC). A current focus is to obtain a molecular understanding of how the innate immune system, by integrating environmental …

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Charalampos Pavlidis

Cellular senescence is a common pattern in disease models of different forms of steatotic liver disease

Cellular senescence occurs in the liver in health and disease. Senescence relates to a status of cell cycle arrest, which becomes more prevalent with increasing age and which develops as the consequence of liver disease.1 Due …

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Nathalie Smyczek

The role of Muc5b in lung homeostasis and onset and progression of interstitial lung disease

Mucociliary clearance is the primary innate defense mechanism of the lung and crucial to maintain lung homeostasis and health. Mucociliary clearance relies on motile cilia on the surface of epithelial cells and a protective …

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Constantin A. Wolff

Learning from outliers – Identifying determinants of kidney survival in non-progressive ADPKD

Not Everything Is “Genetic”, but Genes Are Involved in Everything (adapted from Kenneth M. Weiss). Our group is interested in identification and investigation of genetic, clinical, and environmental factors determining onset …

Class of 2023

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Carolin B. Brigl

No cyst is alike – studying a distinct PKD2-founder variant for better explaining disease variability

Our group is interested in identification and investigation of genetic, clinical, and environmental factors determining onset of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and kidney survival. We make use of next-generation sequencing …

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Natnael Gebremedhin

Effect of the short-chain fatty acid propionate on regulatory T cells in health and chronic kidney disease

In our project, we focus on maladaptive immune responses to prevent multi-morbidity in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Based on our longstanding interest in microbiome-immune interactions in cardiovascular and …

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Establishment of human colon assembloids with an immune cell compartment

The gastrointestinal epithelium is organized into clonal crypts that represent sophisticated anatomical and functional tissue units. The epithelium is intimately associated with the mesenchymal stroma network, and various …

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Luise I. Kausch-Blecken von Schmeling

Innate lymphoid cells and metabolic homeostasis

We study development and function of the innate immune system, in particular of innate lymphoid cells (ILC). A current focus is to obtain a molecular understanding of how the innate immune system, by integrating environmental …

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Jennifer C. Miess

Antibiotic use during pregnancy and increased risk for allergic asthma in the next generation

We are a reproductive immunology group studying pregnancy, allergy and immune system development. The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease hypothesis posits that perinatal environmental exposures, during the fetal and …

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Greta L. Harnisch

Role of SLC26A9 chloride transporter in mucociliary clearance in health and chronic inflammatory airways diseases

The airway mucosa represents the first line of defense of the respiratory system against pathogens, pollutants, and irritants that are constantly inhaled during tidal breathing. Elimination of these potentially harmful …

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Role of the sulfate transporter SLC26A1 in musculoskeletal health

Sulfate is an ion that is indispensable for human health. It is necessary for the formation of connective tissues, including bone and cartilage. The kidney plays a central role in body ion homeostasis by reabsorbing …

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Benjamin Tarnowski

Identification of novel strategies to prevent pneumonia in diabetic individuals

Diabetics have a higher risk of various infectious diseases including pneumonia. Current estimates suggest that 450 million people worldwide have diabetes, and this number will increase to approximately 700 million by 2045. …

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Maintaining vascular integrity in ARDS with organ-on-chip technology

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a serious complication of infectious or sterile lung inflammation, typically as a consequence of pneumonia or sepsis, with high morbidity and mortality (30%-40%) and presently no …