We are very pleased to welcome our new RESIST member Prof. Dr. Josef Penninger. He is Scientific Director of the HZI and he heads the research group “Innovative Organoid Research” at HZI. This group is dedicated to the interactions between host and pathogens and uses organoids – three-dimensional models that mimic human organs. “Organoids allow us to refine studies by incorporating different cellular components for a more accurate simulation of human tissue. This approach is crucial for studying infections, testing vaccines and developing new therapeutic strategies,” explains Prof. Penninger.
To investigate host-pathogen interactions, his team is studying both the processes of infection and the role of effector proteins. The researchers are analyzing how pathogens colonize host cells, spread and evade the immune system. They are also investigating how effector proteins specifically manipulate cellular processes of the host in order to ensure the survival and proliferation of the pathogens. Through these innovative approaches, his team hopes to close the gap between basic research and clinical application and gain new insights into disease mechanisms and potential treatment methods.
Josef Penninger studied medicine at the University of Innsbruck, where he also obtained his doctorate in 1990. He then worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Ontario Cancer Institute in Toronto, Canada, and subsequently in the Department of Immunology and Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto. From 2002 to 2018, he was the founding director of the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) in Vienna and subsequently headed the Institute of Biosciences at the University of British Columbia in Canada until 2023. Josef Penninger has received several research grants in the EU and North America and has a long list of awards and honors.