Speaker: Prof. Dr. Nicole Joller, Institute of Experimental Immunology, University of Zurich
Date: Thursday, 2nd of November 2017, 5:00 pm
Location: Campus FME, Hörsaal Kinderklinik (Haus 10)
Host: Prof. Dr. Andreas Müller (OvGU, Institut für Molekulare und Klinische Immunologie)
Further Information: Our understanding of host-pathogen interaction is primarily derived from studying how the immune system protects us from a single pathogen. In contrast, it is largely unknown how this response alters the body’s ability to respond to a second infectious agent or the susceptibility to autoimmunity or cancer. Prof. Joller's goal is to investigate the long-term effects of pathogenic challenges on future responses. Currently, her group is focusing on changes in the regulatory compartment of the adaptive immune system.
Specifically they aim to:
* Analyze how regulatory T cell (Treg) function and the composition of the Treg compartment are affected by different types of infections
* Determine how a genetically modified Treg compartment affects susceptibility to infections and autoimmunity
* Investigate how previous infections affect the susceptibility to an unrelated secondary challenge
To achieve this they use a wide variety of techniques including:
molecular and biochemical assays, cell culture, flow cytometry, microscopy, immunological assays, animal models (infectious and autoimmune)