About our research
RESIST pursues research for people whose immune system is not strong enough for the defence against pathogens. These are, for example, newborns, seniors, people with a congenital immune deficiency and people whose immune system is attenuated for therapeutic reasons or who have been transplanted with an organ or stem cells.
RESIST scientists investigate pathogenic viruses and bacteria as well as the human defence mechanisms – and especially how both of them interact with each other. Our approach involves clinical and patient cohort studies as the basis for basic research.
Four project areas – one goal
RESIST research is organised in four project areas:
Area A comprises all projects that deal with genetic factors: The role of human genes and gene variants for susceptibility to infections is investigated. Area B is all about the human immune system and why some people are particularly susceptible to infections with viruses and bacteria, for example newborns and elderly individuals. In areas C and D, pathogenic bacteria and viruses respectively are analysed: How do they “settle” permanently in the body and cause chronic infections – for example in the lungs, liver and on implants?
Patients are at the centre of all efforts: The common goal of all research areas is a better protection of vulnerable people by better prediction of the course of an infection or by improved diagnostic and therapeutic options.
The scientific questions of our individual projects
B1 | Which influence do intestinal bacteria have on susceptibility to infection?
B2 | Can intestinal bacteria trigger rheumatological diseases?
B3 | Which impact do intestinal bacteria and infections have on the fitness of immune cells?
B4 |How can immune receptors be used for therapeutic puposes?
B5 | Do advanced age and allergies contribute to the reactivation of dormant herpes viruses?
B6 | Do cytomegaloviruses make the course of atherosclerosis or diabetes worse?
B7 | Does age have an effect on immune responses against viruses?
B8 | Chronic hepatitis B: Why do some people recover spontaneously after therapy disruption?
B9 | Hepatitis B – What causes vaccine failure and which new therapies are possible?
B10 | Hepatitis C – Which immune response can contribute to the development of a new vaccine?
B11 | Cholangitis – Which individual therapy approaches are possible?
D1 | How can we stop the life cycle of herpes viruses at an early step?
D2 | Which new therapeutic options arise when the process of herpesviral assembly is explored?
D3 | Herpes virus infections: How can novel drug targets be identified?
D4 | Is it possible to treat infections and inflammations via innate immune sensors?
Understand infections
Interview with Prof. Dr. Thomas F. Schulz