I studied zoology at the Leopold-Franzens-University in Innsbruck, Austria. During my thesis at the Division of Physiology, Medical University Innsbruck, and my first postdoc years at the Division of Hygiene and Medical Microbiology, Medical University Innsbruck, I focused on cell biology and immunology and worked on signal mechanisms – i.e. MAPK signaling – in human primary cell models upon stimulation with fungal or viral pathogens. I continued these analyses using dendritic cells (DC) and differentially opsonized HIV-1 during my stay in collaboration with Paul Kellam at the Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London. My research group at the Division of Hygiene and Medical Microbiology of the Medical University Innsbruck is interested in modulation of DC and macrophage function by the opsonization pattern of pathogens, i.e. HIV-1, HIV-2 or Aspergillus fumigatus in relevant 3-dimensional cell culture microenvironments containing epithelial borders. To address these issues we use molecular biologic, imaging and immunologic approaches and primary cell models – where possible – or appropriate cell lines for e.g. gene editing approaches.

Mechanisms that co-ordinate viral and fungal up-take and internalization in DCs; focus on the signaling pathways induced by the opsonization pattern of the pathogen.