Section for Medical Biotechnology
The human body is constantly exposed to environmental challenges and evolution has developed highly complex systems to cope with these impacts that can be either beneficial or lead to disturbances resulting in disease. Epithelial barriers form the first line of contact for external cues before they are translated into complicated cellular and tissue responses with the immune system as central integrator of the body’s reaction.
Research in this section focusses on understanding the molecular mechanisms of these critical interactions and their disturbance during infection and in life-style associated diseases and on engineering of advanced protein-based biotherapeutics with the ultimate goal to modulate detrimental reactions to the benefit of human health and wellbeing.
Together with rapid advancements in antibody technology, the section established an integrated technology-driven pipeline to tackle unsolved questions and unmet needs in protein-based molecular medicine.
Focusing on proteins as the executioners of cellular functions, we perform interdisciplinary and collaborative biomedical research on host-environment interactions