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Immunology
Viruses are responsible for many different diseases, from the common cold to COVID or AIDS. If we want to be able to prevent serious infections or pandemics outbreaks, it is important to investigate how our immune system can fight viruses. This is where Jan Rehwinkel's research comes in.
Jan Rehwinkel and his research group are focusing on a series of proteins that can be described as molecular antennas. They help cells register that they have been attacked and infected. Jan Rehwinkel wants to understand how these molecular antennas function and activate the immune system when a virus invades the body. Cells can detect an infection by, for instance, identifying unusual nucleic acids that could be viral DNA or RNA. He studies the signal paths that are activated after recognising nucleic acids and how these signal paths are regulated to prevent excessive immune responses and avoid autoimmune diseases. A better understanding of nucleic acid recognition could help to develop new antiviral strategies, explain the mechanisms of autoimmune diseases and identify starting points for cancer therapies that specifically involve activating the immune response.
The Humboldt Professor’s research focus will close a gap in biomedical research in Heidelberg and open up new, complementary perspectives for reinforcing vaccine development, infection control and cancer immunotherapy.
Brief bio
Jan Rehwinkel has held a professorship in innate immunity at Oxford University, UK, since 2020. Following his doctorate in 2007 and a postdoc position in Heidelberg, Germany, he relocated to England where he initially worked at Cancer Research UK in London, subsequently setting up his own research group at Oxford University in 2012. He is the recipient of a Wellcome Trust New Investigator Award, a Lister Institute Research Prize and an EMBO Young Investigator award.
Jan Rehwinkel has been selected for a Humboldt Professorship and is currently conducting appointment negotiations with the German university that nominated him for the award. If the negotiations are successful, the award will be granted in 2026.