- Department / Institute
- Department for Vascular Biology, Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research
- Subject area
- Inflammation Research, ARDS Research, Vascular Research
- Name of supervisor
- Prof. Dr. Jürgen Bernhagen, Dr. Adrian Hoffmann
- Number of open positions
- 1
- Project title
- Function of MIF proteins at the crossroad of innate and adaptive immune responses: focus on dendritic and T cell interplay
- Language requirements
- Fluency in English
- Academic requirements
- 4-year Bachelor's plus Master's degree
- Study model
- Full doctoral study model: 36 or 48 months
- Contacts
- Prof. Dr. Jürgen Bernhagen: juergen.bernhagen@med.uni-muenchen.de
Dr. Adrian Hoffmann: adrian.hoffmann@med.uni-muenchen.de
Project description
This project focuses on the functions of MIF proteins on dendritic cells and T cells. MIF is considered to be an innate cytokine/chemokine which exerts most of its roles by controlling cells of the innate arm of the immune system. However, recent evidence also suggests a critical role for MIF and its homolog MIF-2 in the control of T-cell activity. In the project, these novel unexpected effects will be studied via well-established basic immunological techniques as well as innovative and technologically advanced functional leucocyte assays. Systematic comparison of MIF, MIF-2, and their receptors will lead to an in-depth mechanistic exploration of the currently unknown MIF-family induced interplay of dendritic cells and T cells at the crossroad of the innate and adaptive immune responses. This is of particular interest, as a dysbalance in the alveolar immune milieu, e.g. dysregulated interplay between pro- versus anti-inflammatory mediators and T regulatory versus Th17 cells, plays a decisive role in the pathophysiological processes in ARDS.