Research Group:

One major goal of our group is to explore the interaction of different cellular components of the immune system with tumor cells and to develop strategies to manipulate the immune system for a more efficient treatment of malignant diseases. In this context, we focuse on the modulation of the immunostimulatory properties of native human dendritic cells by tumor cells and the identification of novel tumor-associated antigens for T cell- and antibody-based immunotherapy of tumors.

Another major topic is to investigate the immunosuppressive properties of human mesenchymal stem cells, which represent promising candidates for the treatment of graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, graft rejection and autoimmune diseases. In this context, we evaluate the ability of mesenchymal stem cells to modulate phenotype and function of cellular components of innate (NK cells, dendritic cells) and adaptive (CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells) immunity.