Drug Discovery

An international team of physicians, scientists, PhD students and technical assistants work together on basic and translational research. Our focus is the experimental investigation of the fundamentals of mast cell biology, which play a central role in many dermatological and allergological diseases. The aim is to identify new targets and establish new technologies for improved diagnosis and therapy.

In this context, we will use in vitro models developed by us, for which we will employ mast cells isolated directly from the skin,generated from stem cells or isolated directly from the skin, or ex vivo skin models. We will thus create experimental conditions in which we can analyze mast cells under the most physiological conditions possible. To simulate skin-like conditions, growth factors such as stem cell factors and cytokines will be used.

Research Interests:

• Identification of novel autoantigens and biomarkers in chronic spontaneous urticaria and inducible chronic urticaria.
• Investigation of mast cell heterogeneity and mast cell specific response profiles.
• Characterization of mast cell receptors and their ligands
• Investigation of interaction mechanisms of mast cells with other cells of the innate or  adaptive immune system
• Development and validation of new agents for the treatment of autoinflammatory diseases
• Identification and validation of new agents to enhance endogenous immunoregulatory processes in allergy
• Development of technologies to obtain interstitial fluid from the skin for biomarker analysis
• Exploring the interaction of mast cells and T cells in viral infections