
I was trained as theoretical physicist (Masters), theoretical biologist (PhD 2006 from the Humboldt University of Berlin (Germany)). My research interests include adaptive immune responses against pathogen infections, computational models for studying host-pathogen interactions, and bioinformatics analysis of high throughput next generation sequencing data.Research is one of the things I love the most, along with teaching and sports. Our research group in Systems Medicine, is an interdisciplinary team with skills in Immunology, Mathematical Modelling, Statistics and Bioinformatics to study immune responses, specifically T cells. This research contributes to better understanding of immune protection against viral infections, but also of immunological tolerance and how autoimmunity arise.
In my interdisciplinary team we also develop bioinformatics and statistical tools for analysis of genomics and immunology high throughput data. The rapid advancement in high-throughput technologies, such as single cell analysis and next generation sequencing, has lead to complex large data-sets, which demand for quantitative skills to interpret data. We have established a unique combination of these new methodologies and systems analyses to address key questions that classical immune-virology experimental approaches alone could not resolve. I have developed novel computational models to analysis viral genomes using next-generation deep sequencing, which led to novel insights on HCV infections, as well as on the translational application of these technologies in terms of monitoring outbreak, drug resistance
I have experience in applying mathematical modelling statistics and bioinformatics to understand infectious diseases, focussing on transmission dynamics of drug resistant mycobacterium tuberculosis, and the transmission of hepatitis C virus among injecting drug users. I made several contributions in how HCV infect a new host and the role of T cell mediated responses using next generation sequencing technologies, flow cytometry and statistical modelling. More recently, he has moved into single cell genomics and systems immunology approaches to understand T cell dynamics.
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Research Interests
Systems Immunology
Single Cell Genomics and Multi-Omics
Media
Occasions where my research has been picked up by the media:
My research focusses on understanding Immune responses and specifically T cells in the context of viral infections, but also in autoimmune conditions where these responses go "rogue" and cause harm to our body and mind.
As a theoretical physicist by training, I utilise an interdisciplinary approach to understand these responses. In particular, a major goal in my research is to develop novel technologies and computational biology methdos that can be applied to asnwer key questions of how adaptive immune responses defeat viral infections and how these natural mechansims can be utilised to modern immunotherapies.