Open Research

Projects

Open Research Projects

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Frederik Damm

Characterization of natural killer cells harboring clonal hematopoiesis mutations in patients with cancer and cardiovascular diseases

The scientific focus of our lab within the framework of the graduate college centers on unraveling the multifaceted role of clonal hematopoiesis (CH) in disease prevention and inflammatory processes. CH is recognized as a …

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Andreas Diefenbach
Dr. Michael Kofoed-Branzk

Plasticity of ILC3 in intestinal inflammation

We study the development and function of the innate immune system, with a particular emphasis on innate lymphoid cells (ILC). Our current goal is to achieve a molecular-level understanding of how the innate immune system …

Principal Investigator
Dr. Claudia Dürr

Defining microbiome-driven control of antiviral immune responses

The goal of my laboratory is to understand the regulation and control mechanisms of immune responses at barrier surfaces specifically in the respiratory tract. We are continuously exposed to the environment by filtering …

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Cornelius Engelmann
Dr. Pavitra Kumar

Development of an ECM-based advanced in vitro model to elucidate mechanisms of MASLD onset, recovery, and prevention

***Follows.

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Frank Heppner
PD Dr. Marina Jendrach

Expression pattern and function of IL-12 receptor in the central nervous system in neurodegeneration and aging

Our project directly aligns with the central mission of the Else Kröner-Fresenius Graduate College Re-Thinking Health, which aims to establish a novel, mechanistic understanding of health as an active, regulated biological …

Principal Investigator
Dr. Christoph Klose
Prof. Dr. Ildiko Dunay

Monitoring neuronal adaption to Toxoplasma gondii infection on the whole transcriptome level in the central and enteric nervous system

Our lab investigates fundamental mechanisms of communication between the nervous and immune systems, two major sensory networks that continuously monitor tissue integrity and initiate protective responses upon disruption. …

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Felix Knauf
Prof. Dr. Peter Aronson

Role of the sulfate transporter SLC26A1 in protection against acetaminophen (Tylenol, Paracetamol) toxicity

Within the graduate college, this project addresses how systemic sulfate homeostasis influences drug-induced liver injury. By studying the role of SLC26A1 in acetaminophen toxicity, it links renal and hepatic physiology with …

Principal Investigator
Dr. Dr. Marina Kolesnichenko

Senescent cells in progression of IBD to CRC

Our group aims to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in tissue homeostasis, inflammation, and resolution of inflammation. Our main focus is on the transcription factor NF-κB and its role in the intestinal …

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Gerhard Krönke

Uncovering molecular mechanisms leading to the onset of rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) represent a chronic and prevalent autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation and progredient joint destruction. Both anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA) and autoreactive ACPA-producing …

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Kübler
Dr. Lasti Erfinanda

Mitochondrial transfer from pericytes to endothelial cells – a central switch between maintenance of vascular homeostasis and pathological vascular remodeling

Pulmonary hypertension is a common cardiopulmonary disease that is characterized by extensive remodeling of the pulmonary vascular tree and a poor prognosis due to ultimate right heart failure. The underlying progressive lung …

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Eicke Latz

Ultra-sensitive systemic inflammatory signatures of age-related multimorbidity in naturally aged mice

This project addresses a central aim of the EKFS Graduate School: to identify systemic signals that precede, accompany, and potentially predict age-related disease. Rather than studying one organ in isolation, the unbiased …

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Max Löhning
Dr. Philippe Saikali

The nuclear import and stability of GATA-3 as a central rheostat for lymphocyte identity OR Elucidating the structural basis and functional relevance of GATA-3 foci in lymphocytes

The project addresses the “Re-Thinking Health” concept by focusing on the molecular mechanisms that actively maintain a healthy, stable cellular identity. The dynamic balance of GATA-3’s nuclear import and degradation is a …

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Marcus Mall
Dr. Christine K. Wong

Impact of neutrophil serine proteases on mucus properties and function in in muco-obstructive lung diseases

Our airways are covered by a thin mucus layer that plays a pivotal role in maintaining lung health and homeostasis. In healthy, this mucus layer entraps constantly inhaled pathogens, pollutants and irritants that are then …

Principal Investigator
Dr. Irene Mattiola
Prof. Dr. Andreas Diefenbach

Group 3 innate lymphoid cell regulation of vascular remodeling at homeostasis and in cancer

We are interested in understanding the mechanisms by which a specific subset of innate lymphocytes, namely group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3), regulate immune responses and tissue functions at homeostasis and in cancer. …

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Dominik Müller
Prof. Dr. Britta Siegmund
Dr. Lea-Maxie Haag
Dr. Malte Lehmann

Epithelial acetyl-CoA metabolism as a regulator of intestinal barrier function in IBD

Based at the Department of Gastroenterology, Infectious Diseases and Rheumatology at Campus Benjamin Franklin, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and at the Max Delbrück Center (MDC) in Berlin, our main clinical and …

Principal Investigator
Dr. Christian Neumann

Stromal regulation of the intestinal epithelium – a novel role for the OGF/OGFR axis

The epithelium of the gastrointestinal tract is a single cell layer organized into villi and crypts, which separates microbiota and host. Stem cells in the crypts constantly generate epithelial progenitors that differentiate …

Principal Investigator
PD Dr. Tobias Petzold
Dr. Vincent Ehreiser

Characterization of long-term immobility induced thromboprotective mechanisms in immune cells

Disease prevention is taking a central role in tackling the burden of cardiovascular disease in our aging society. Thrombotic cardiovascular diseases such as venous thromboembolism, stroke and myocardial infarction are main …

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Julia Polánsky-Biskup
Prof. Dr. Horst von Bernuth

Immunological health: the role of EPHB3 in enabling and preserving human T-cell immunity

Health is not merely the absence of disease, but a dynamic, active molecular process where the development and preservation of a competent immune system is crucial. A core characteristic of immunological health is …

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Chiara Romagnani
Dr. Christina Stehle

Tissue niches and signals regulating lymphocyte maintenance

The innate immune system develops early in parallel with tissue formation, suggesting its role extends beyond host defense. In particular, tissue-resident innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) colonize tissues during fetal life and …

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Francesca Ronchi
Prof. Dr. Andreas Diefenbach

Impact of ICU dietary conditions on the susceptibility to hospital-acquired infections via host-microbiota and innate immune system-epithelial perturbations

Hospital-acquired infections remain one of the most pressing unresolved challenges in critical care, yet the role of nutritional support, ubiquitous in ICU management, in shaping host susceptibility through microbiota and …

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Britta Siegmund
Dr. Lea-Maxie Haag
Dr. Malte Lehmann

Immunometabolic characterization of Crohn’s disease phenotypes – Does location matter?

Based at the Department of Gastroenterology, Infectious Diseases and Rheumatology at Campus Benjamin Franklin, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, our main clinical and research focus are inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). …

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Leif Erik Sander

Dissecting T-cell immunity to JCV to design novel predictive tools and therapies for PML

This project aligns with Re-Thinking Health by investigating homeostatic immune control of a common virus, the John Cunningham virus (JCV), by deciphering the identity and function of rare populations of protective T-cells in …

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Antigoni Trinatafyllopoulou

Targeting alveolar macrophage self-renewal to maintain lung homeostasis and prevent chronic inflammatory lung disease

Active maintenance of tissue health requires maintenance of tissue-resident macrophages that perform homeostatic functions. Loss of tissue-resident macrophages reduces the ability of tissues to maintain homeostasis or to …

Principal Investigator
PD Dr. Nicola Wilck
Dr. István András Szijarto, PhD

Gut microbiota remotely modulate systemic energy metabolism via persulfidation

Scientific interest centers on the molecular mechanisms that preserve health and resilience with focus on microbiome-host crosstalk, especially microbiome-derived hydrogen sulfide, protein persulfidation, and systemic energy …