Open Research

Projects

Open Research Projects

Principal Investigator
PD Dr. Melanie Conrad

The influence of early life overweight on immune system development and asthma severity

We are a reproductive immunology group studying pregnancy, allergy, the gut microbiome and immune system development. Our research focuses on the “developmental origins of health and disease” hypothesis, which posits that …

Principal Investigator
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 …

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Philipp Enghard
Dr. Jan Klocke

Resilience against kidney damage

Our group is interested in immune and kidney epithelial cell interactions. Using analysis of cells in the urine, kidney biopsies and cell culture we focus on analyzing human patient samples to answer the overarching question, …

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Kamran Ghoreschi
Dr. Franz Hilke

Circulating cell-free DNA as biomarker for prognosis and treatment response in psoriasis

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

Principal Investigator
Dr. Matthias Gröschel
Prof. Dr. Leif Erik Sander

Beyond the dichotomy of latent and active tuberculosis – defining health and disease in Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection

Health and disease is not well defined for tuberculosis, one of the most important infectious diseases. Here, we propose to build upon an existing cohort study of tuberculosis contacts in Berlin to define a recently …

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Jan Halbbritter
Dr. Manuel Anderegg

Evaluating clinical significance of gene dosage sensitivity for kidney stone disease

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

Principal Investigator
Dr. Linda Hammerich
Prof. Dr. Frank Tacke

The influence of lipidome alterations on dendritic cell functionality in fatty liver (MASLD)

Our lab studies the role of immune cells and inflammatory processes in the liver. During homeostasis the liver plays an important role in adaptation to environmental influences as it is constantly exposed to antigens from the …

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

Neuro-immune interactions.

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Felix Knauf

Role of the SLC26A1 in kidney nutrient absorption and toxin excretion

The kidney has a central role in absorbing nutrients for tissue function and health. Vice versa, cellular toxins have to be excreted by the kidney into the urine to avoid systemic accumulation and toxicity. Our working group …

Principal Investigator
Dr. Dr. Marina Kolesnichenko

Senescent cells in progression of IBD to CRC

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

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Gerhard Krönke

Role of the metabolic adaption of macrophages during the maintenance of tissue homeostasis

Role of tissue resident macrophages during the maintenance of tissue homeostasis and the prevention of inflammatory disorders.

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

Assessment of the role of pericyte loss in the pathophysiology of pulmonary arterial hypertension by organ-on-chip technology

Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a cardiopulmonary disease that is characterized by profound remodeling of the pulmonary vascular tree and has a poor prognosis if left untreated. Current therapeutic approaches rely on …

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Max Löhning
Dr. Ping Shen

Role of the soluble IL-33 receptor in osteoarthritis and type-1 versus type-2 T-cell responses

Alarmins can be used as markers for pathologies even prior to obvious onset of disease. Moreover, interference with alarmins and their signaling pathways provides a powerful tool for the manipulation of several types of …

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Marcus Mall
Dr. Laura Schaupp

Role of a natural microbiome in the course of cystic fibrosis-like lung disease in mice

The microbiota, i.e. the entirety of microbes in an organism, plays a crucial role in the maintenance of health and the development of diseases. A diverse microbiota not only produces essential metabolites and supports the …

Principal Investigator
Dr. Christian Neumann

Neuro-immune interactions in the GI tract: Defining the role of endogenous opioid-producing regulatory T cells

Chronically stimulated surfaces of the body, in particular the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, are major sites where immune cells traffic and reside. Since the intestinal surface is constantly challenged by fluctuating …

Principal Investigator
PD Dr. Tobias Petzold
Dr. Marco Witkowski

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. Chiara Romagnani
Dr. Timo Rückert

Role of persistent herpesvirus in shaping innate immune clonality

A hallmark of adaptive immunity is the clonal selection and expansion of cells with somatically diversified receptors and their long-term maintenance as memory cells. The innate immune system, in contrast, is wired to rapidly …

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Francesca Ronchi
Dr. Laura Díaz Marugán

Identification of a gut microbiota signature in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy upon ketogenic diet treatment

Our research project entitled “Identification of a gut microbiota signature in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy upon ketogenic diet treatment” aims to characterise the composition of the gut microbiota of patients …

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Leif Erik Sander
Dr. Philipp Georg

Establishment of a human tonsil organoid platform for the investigation of vaccine mechanisms of action

Vaccines constitute one of the most effective public health interventions and play a crucial role in the control and prevention of infectious diseases. Their value to human health was recently demonstrated during the COVID-19 …

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

Therapeutic goals in IBD or ‘How healthy is an IBD patient in deep remission?

Based in the Department of Gastroenterology, Infectious Diseases and Rheumatology, our main clinical and research focus is the field of Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Within the treatment of IBD, therapeutic goals have …

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Michael Sigal
Dr. Manqiang Lin

The human assembloid reveals the crosstalk of colonic resident macrophages with their neighboring epithelium, vasculature, and enteric nervous system

The gastrointestinal mucosa consists of epithelial cells and a variety of surrounding stromal and immune cells. These cells act in concert to fulfill the functions of the mucosa such as nutrient absorption as well as the …

Principal Investigator
Dr. Efstathios Stamatiades

The role of tissue-resident macrophages in invasive candidiasis

We are interested in understanding the role of the macrophages that reside within the kidney, termed kidney-resident macrophages (krMΦs). Although krMΦs are fundamental for kidney homeostasis, it is unclear how they support …

Principal Investigator
Prof. Dr. Antigoni Trinatafyllopoulou

Mechanisms by which innate immune crosstalk maintains kidney homeostasis and protects from autoimmune organ damage

Tissue resident immune cells maintain organ health by mechanisms that are not well understood. We propose to explore the mechanisms by which ILC crosstalk with resident macrophages to maintain homeostasis in the kidney.

Principal Investigator
Dr. Nicola Wilck
Dr. Johannes Holle

The role of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor and intestinal barrier function in inflammation in CKD

Chronic kidney dysfunction is a major global health concern of increasing prevalence, driving a plethora of secondary comorbidities. A mechanistic understanding of the driving factors is essential to develop preventive and …

Principal Investigator
Dr. Marco Witowski
PD Dr. Tobias Petzold

Dissecting the effects of endogenous and dietary sweeteners on thrombosis potential and vascular inflammation

We are a reproductive immunology group studying pregnancy, allergy, the gut microbiome and immune system development. Our research focuses on the “developmental origins of health and disease” hypothesis, which posits that …