Infection & Immunity

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Team of the research group "Infection & Immunity"

The "Infection & Immunity" work group concentrates on dissecting the host response to infection and vaccination during human cohort studies with primary focus on SARS-CoV2 infection, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), oncogenic Human Papilloma Viruses (HPV), Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and helminth infections (together with AG Inge Kroidl). This includes the molecular characterization of the infecting pathogen, identification of correlates of immune protection from infection and disease progression, biomarker discovery for TB diagnostics and treatment monitoring, characterization of HIV reservoirs, as well as mapping of B cell epitopes upon vaccination. Besides the analysis of systemic cellular and humoral immune responses, the group has proficiency in the analysis of effector cell subsets in human tissue samples using multiplex fluorescence immunohistochemistry combined with detection of viral nucleic acids using in situ hybridization to study the micro-environment of virus-infected cells. The capacity for bioinformatic analysis of large-scale RNA sequencing data and microscopy images is undergoing further development.

The working group is closely affiliated with the International Clinical Trials Unit of the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) and contributes to human subject specimen processing and biobanking during large international clinical trials and observational studies. The group collaborates closely with the NIMR-Mbeya Medical Research Center in Mbeya, Tanzania and the Instituto Nacional da Saude in Maputo, Mozambique as well as other African Research Centers to support improving the capacity for infectious disease research in endemic settings on the African continent.

Immunology laboratory and work areas

In addition, we offer GCP-compliant laboratory services for partners from the biomedical industry during clinical phase 1 to phase 3 of vaccine studies. This includes the management of investigational medicinal products, the processing of human samples, biobanking and international sample logistics. This includes the processing of blood samples (plasma, serum, isolation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells). The group also has extensive experience in supporting large international clinical trials with a particular focus on Africa. We therefore offer support in sample and reagent logistics, capacity building and the analysis process in various national and international studies. Please contact us for further information.

Analysis of diagnostic RNA signatures by means of microfluidics-based quantitative PCR

Immunomonitoring laboratory

Phenotyping of pathogen-specific T cells on the flow cytometer

Bioinformatic analysis of multi-omics data

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