Class of ... – Re-Thinking Health

Class of 2021

Student

ILC3 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 …

Student

Tfh and Th17 cells as markers for the risk for pemphigoid diseases in aging healthy skin

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 …

Student

Mechanosensing of intestinal macrophages

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 …

Student

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 …

Student

Karoline F. Troch

Dissecting tissue-homeostatic functions of group 2 innate lymphoid 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

Student

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 …

Student

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 …

Student

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 …

Student

Prof. Dr. Antigoni Triantafyllopoulou

Immunoregulatory role of macrophages and microglia in CNS lupus

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 …

Student

Valentin Vecera

Influence of CKD-associated microbiome changes on the immune system and cardiovascular risk

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 …

Class of 2022

Student

Prof. Dr. Andreas Diefenbach

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 …

Student

Prof. Dr. Kai-Uwe Eckhardt
Dr. Markus Schüler

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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PD Dr. Cornelius Engelmann
Prof. Dr. Frank Tacke

To generate an atlas of cellular senescence in different types and severity grades of 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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Prof. Dr. Jan Halbritter
Dr. Ria Schönauer

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 …

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Prof. Dr. Dr. Ahmed N. Hegazy

The role of the OSM pathway in maintaining intestinal homeostasis

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 …

Student

Dr. Stefan Jordan

Does fasting re-program inflammatory immune cells?

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 …

Student

Prof. Dr. Felix Knauf,
PD Dr. Martin Reichel

The role of oxalate transporters 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 …

Student

Dr. DPhil. Marina Kolesnichenko

NF-κB in homeostasis, acute inflammation, and mucosal healing

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 …

Student

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Kübler
Prof. Dr. Robert Szulcek

The role of the primary cilium in the physiological autoregulation of the pulmonary vasculature

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 …

Student

Prof. Dr. Marcus A. Mall
Dr. Julia Dürr

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 …

Student

Prof. Dr. Chiara Romagnani
Timo Rückert

Role of persistent herpesvirus in shaping innate immune clonality

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 …

Student

Dr. Nicola Wilck
Dr. Hendrik Bartolomaeus

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 …