RESEARCH INTEREST

Our research focuses on the intricate cell-cell communications during innate immune responses in a living animal. Specialized immune cells – leukocytes - are vital for morphogenesis during embryonic development and tissue regeneration. Prominently, they participate on many levels of an animal’s response to wounding and infection. While malfunctions within the regulatory network of leukocyte function inevitably result in pathological conditions, the molecular and biophysical characteristics of spatial signals that direct immediate tissue response are poorly understood.

The overall aim of our research is to contribute to a better understanding of the innate immune response taking advantage of the unique properties of the zebrafish model system. Zebrafish facilitate the investigation of such multidimensional processes as inflammation in an in vivo context and allow taking into account the contribution of several cellular and systemic networks present in a living organism. We aim at the identification and characterization of novel molecular players and novel functions of known players that regulate inflammation through classical genetics, chemical biology, spatially and temporally restricted transcriptome analyses and proteomics as well as through further characterization of the zebrafish innate immune system.