Institute of Immunology

Chance favours only the prepared mind
Louis Pasteur

Welcome to the Website of the Institute of Immunology!

To add to a better understanding of the immune system by purposeful research and to provide this knowledge to students as well as for professional education is the main goal of the Institute of Immunology. Our efforts are especially dedicated to conduct application-oriented investigations relevant to human medicine. Elucidating the molecular basis of immunological reactions is aimed at increasing the insight into the principles of immune reactivity and shall form the basis for the development of new strategies for therapeutic interventions as well as for decisive diagnostic procedures. Founded in 1967, the IFI currently employs 64 researchers, 46 of them funded by project grants. It is one of the evaluated top biomedical research institutions in Vienna. For your information you may download our image folder (1,9 MB) and the last Scientific Report 2011 (2,2 MB) - 40 Years Special Report 2007 (5,9 MB)

News and Activities

MCCA - neues PhD Programm

ao. Univ.Prof.Dr. Winfried F. Pickl, ist Sprecher des PhD Program "Molecular, Cellular and Clinical Allergology" der Medizinischen Universität Wien und der Veterinärmedizinischen Universität Wien.

More...

Tag der Immunologie 29.April 2013

Immunologische Forschung zum Wohle der Menschen
(Wien, 29-04-2013) Basierend auf einer Initiative der Europäischen Dachgesellschaft für Immunologie (EFIS) findet heute bereits zum 9. Mal der ‚Tag der Immunologie’ statt. Weltweit leiden mehr als 500 Millionen Menschen an Störungen und Erkrankungen des Immunsystems. Am Tag der Immunologie soll das öffentliche Bewusstsein für die Bedeutung des Immunsystems als Basis für Gesundheit und Wohlbefinden gestärkt werden. Die Medizinische Universität Wien betreibt weltweit anerkannte Spitzenforschung auf dem Gebiet der Immunologie.

More...

Preise und Auszeichnungen

Alina Neunkirchner - Pirquet Preis der ÖGAI
For her work „"THuman TCR transgenic Bet v 1-specific Th1 cells suppress the effector function of Bet v 1-specific Th2 cells. J.Immunol. 187:4077 (2011) she was awarded the Clemens von Pirquet prize of the Austrian Society for Allergology and Immunology for outstanding research in the field of allergology.

Hammad Hassan - Karl Landsteiner Preis der ÖGAI
For his work „"CD8 enhancer E8I and Runx factors regulate CD8 expression in activated CD8+ T cells. PNAS 108:18330 (2011) he was awarded the Karl Landsteiner prize of the Austrian Society for Allergology and Immunology for outstanding basic research in the field of immunology.

Klaus Schmetterer
ÖGAI Dissertationspreis 2012
Klaus Schmetterer was awarded the Thesis prize of the Österreichische Gesellschaft für Allergologie und Immunologie for his Thesis "Modulation of allergen specific T-cell responses using novel antigen-presenting platforms and transgenic regulatory T cells". The thesis was done at the Institute of Immunology, since March 2012 he is at the Klin.Inst.f.med.-chem.Labordiagnostik at the Medical University of Vienna.

Wilfried Ellmeier - Wahl zum Korrespondierenden Mitglied der Österreichischen Akademie der Wisenschaften

In ihrer Wahlsitzung im April 2012 hat die Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaft Wilfried Ellmeier vom Institut für Immunologie zum korrespondierenden Mitglied gewählt.

Judith Leitner - Theodor Körner Preis

for her project „Die
Bedeutung des CD2-CD58 Signalweges für die Immunkompetenz bei älteren
Personen“

Klaus Schmetterer - WAO Outstanding Junior Abstract Award

at the World Allergy Congress in Cancun, Mexico for his abstract entitled "Bet v 1-specific T-cell receptor/forkhead box protein 3 transgenic T-cells suppress Bet v 1-specific T-cell effector function in an activation-dependent manner"

Hammad Hassan - Dissertation Prize 2011 of the Verein zur Förderung von Wissenschaft und Forschung
For his work „"Transcriptional control mechanisms of Cd8a gene expression in naïve and effector CD8+ T cells" " Hammad Hassan was awarded the Dissertation Prize 2011.

Nighat YASMIN was awarded the 1st Poster Prize for her poster presentation "VDR beta-catenin and TgF-beta1 signaling co-operate in inducing differentiation and epithelial gene expression by Langerhans dendritic cells" at the 12th International Workshop on Langerhans Cells in Innsbruck, Nov 3-6, 2011.

Shinya Sakaguchi - Sanofi-Aventis Prize 2011
For his work „The zinc-finger protein MAZR is part of the transcription factor network that controls the CD4 versus CD8 lineage fate of double-positive thymocytes”, Nature Immunology 2010 11:422 SHINYA SAKAGUCHI ws awarded the Sanofi-Aventis Prize 2011.

Judith Leitner
ÖGAI Dissertationspreis 2011
Judith Leitner was awarded the Thesis prize of the Österreichische Gesellschaft für Allergologie und Immunologie for her Thesis "The role of costimulatory pathways during the activation of human T cells".

Further ÖGAI Prizes for our colleagues

2 of 5 POSTER PRIZES for:
Nicole Boucheron
The class I histone deacetylases HDAC1 and HDAC2 regulate the expression of CD8 in CD4 T
Shinya Sakaguchi
Transcriptional control of cytotoxic T cell differentiation by MAZR

2 of 4 BEST ORAL PRESENTATION PRIZES for:
Nighat Yasmin
VDR beta-catenin and TGF-beta1 signaling co-operate in inducing differentiation and epithelial gene expression by Langerhans dendritic cells
Afitap Derya Köprülü
The role of Btk during Listeria monocytogenes infection

Shinya Sakaguchi "Researcher of the Month June 2011"
On occasion of his publication "The zinc-finger protein MAZR is part of the transcription factor network that controls the CD4 versus CD8 lineage fate of double-positive thymocytes”, Nature Immunology 11:442 (2010) - IF 26.000, Dr. Shinya Sakaguchi was nominated Research of the Month June 2011. The work has been done at the Division of Immunobiology, Head Professor W.Ellmeier, at the Institute of Immunology in cooperation with the „Laboratory for Transcriptional Regulation“ RIKEN Research Center for Allergy and Immunology, Yokohama, Japan (Prof. Dr. I. Taniuchi). Mehr...

Univ.Prof.Dr. Martha M.Eibl
All our best wishes to Martha Eibl for her 80th birthday. She is given a book, summarizing all papers published during her work at the Institute of Immunology.

8.4.2011

ÖGAI Karl Landsteiner Prize
sponsored by the Karl Landsteiner & Eisler-Terramare Foundation with 3000,- € for outstanding work done in the field of immunologic basic reearch, has been awarded to SHINYA SAKAGUCHI for his publication "The zinc-finger protein MAZR is part of the transcription factor network that controls the CD4 versus CD8 lineage fate of double-positive thymocytes "Nature Immunology 11:442 (2010).

ÖGAI Preis für Best oral Presentation
Maria Seyerl was one of the 7 awardees.

ÖGAI Preis für Best Poster Presentation
Rene Köffel and Hammad Hassan received two of 15 poster prizes.

Sanofi Aventis Prize

30-11-2010 Sanofi-Aventis Prize for publication in Blood to Dr. Zoya Kuzmina 'Proportions of immature CD19+CD21_ B lymphocytes predict
the response to extracorporeal photopheresis in patients with chronic
graft-versus-host disease. Zoya Kuzmina, Hildegard T. Greinix, Robert
Knobler, Nina Worel, Michal Kouba, Roman Weigl, Ulrike Körmöczi*, Arno
Rottal*, David Pohlreich, Christoph Zielinski and Winfried F. Pickl*
doi:10.1182/blood-2009-05-221028'

* Members of Inst. of Immunology

Dr.in Zoya Kuzmina (Univ.-Klinik f.Inn. Med. I, Knochenmarkstranspl., Prof. Hildegard Greinix) konnte in ihrer Forschungsarbeit, die in enger Zu-sammenarbeit mit der Abt.f. Zelluläre Immunologie u. Immunhämatologie des Instituts für Immunologie (Prof. Winfried F. Pickl) durchgeführt wurde, nachweisen, dass CD19+CD21- unreife B-Lymphozyten zelluläre Biomarker für das Ansprechen von PatientInnen mit chronischer GvHD auf Photopherese darstellen auch als Biomarker für die objektive Messung der Aktivität der chronischen GvHD in der Klinik verwendet werden können. Die chronische Spender- gegen- Empfänger-Erkrankung (Graft- versus- host- Erkrankung, GvHD) stellt eine häufige und schwerwiegende Komplikation der allogenen Knochen-mark- und Blutstammzelltransplantation dar. Betroffene PatientInnen haben ein hohes Infektionsrisiko und müssen langjährig unter immunsuppressiver Behandlung stehen, die extrakorporale Photopherese erzielt hier hohe Ansprechraten bei ausgezeichneter Verträglichkeit, daher ist die Entdeckung dieses Biomarkers von großer Bedeutung für Betroffene und betreuende ÄrztInnen.

Diploma Thesis Award for Anastasia Meshcheryakova

30-04-2010 Anastasia Meshcheryakova has been awarded the Diploma Thesis Prize of the NAWI-Club, University of Vienna, Faculty of Science.

ÖGAI Poster and Presentation Prizes

07-11-2009 On occasion of the Landsteiner Meeting of the Austrian Society for Allergology and Immunology in Salzburg, Alina Neunkirchner, Victoria Reichl-Leb, Sabine Konradi and Roland Tschismarov have been awarded Poster Prizes and Johannes Stöckl a Best Oral Presentation Prize.

Awardees of ÖGAI Prizes, among them our colleagues

ÖGAI Prizes for Julia Raberger and Victoria Reichl-Leb

05-10-2009 After international reviewing the board of the Austrian Society for Allergology and Immunology has decided to award the Ursula & Fritz Melchers Dissertationspreis 2009 to Julia RABERGER for her Thesis "Studies on the role of the tyrosine kinase Itk T cell development and function". The Clemens von Pirquet Prize 2009 goes to Victoria REICHL-LEB for her pulication in J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 124:121,2009 "Modulation of allergen-specific T-lymphocyte function by virus-like particles decorated with HLA class II molecules"

V.Reichl-Leb, J.Raberger

European Congress of Immunology
ECI 2015 will be in Vienna

17-09-2009 Winfried F. Pickl was highly successful in representing the Austrian Society for Allergology and Immunology (ÖGAI) in the competition for the European Congress of Immunology 2015 proposing Vienna as the Congress Venue. Excellent preparation and presentation of the bid, together with B.Bohle from the Inst.of Pathophysiology, will bring more than 5000 scientists to Vienna in the year 2015 (APA announcement)

W.F.Pickl, B.Bohle

Doc Forte Stipendium
Austrian Academy of Sciences
12-03-2009 Judith Leitner (Division Immune Receptors and T-Cell Activation, Head Peter Steinberger) has received a Doc Forte Scholarship from the Austrian Academy of Sciences for her project "Identification of
tumor antigens usign antibodies induced by DC-based vaccines" for the next two years.

Judith Leitner

Lise Meitner Stipendium
03-11-2008 Sabine Witzel (Division Molecular Biology of Hematopoietic Stem Cells and Dendritic Cells; Head Herbert Strobl) has received a Lise Meitner Scholarship from the Austrian Science Fund for her project "Regulation of epithelial properties in Langerhans cells" for the period 2009-2011.

Sabine Witzel

ISO 9001 Certificate
19-06-2008 The Immunodiagnostic Laboratory of the Institute of Immunology has received the Certificate according to the Guidelines of ISO 9001. It is a great concern to us to contribute to the further improvement of standardization as well an implementation of quality control measures in immunologic testing procedures.

UEMS
Union Européenne des Medecins Spécialistes
17-05-2008 Gerhard Zlabinger was elected Secretary of the UEMS Section "Medical Bio-Pathology"

Austrian Academy of Sciences
"Junge Kurie"

14-05-2008 Wilfried Ellmeier and Herbert Strobl have been elected members of the newly founded "Junge Kurie" of the Austria Academy of Sciences. Wilfried Ellmeier was also nominated as Board member of the "Junge Kurie".

New Professors
Inaugural Lectures 29.04.2008

Wilfried Ellmeier - Professor of Immunbiology

Gerhard Zlabinger - Professor of Clinical and Experimental Immunology

26.11.2007 Opening of the Christian Doppler Labor for Immune Modulation
Head: Barbara Bohle (Inst.Pathophysiology)

Winfried F.Pickl is heading Module 4

01-03-2007	Stefanie Kirchberger, who did her diploma and phD Thesis at our institute will move to The University of Oxford, UK, Laboratory of Fiona Powrie
13-12-2007	Landsteiner Prize of the Austrian Society for Allergology and Immunology for Winfried F.Pickl
01-12-2007	Sanofi-Aventis Preis 2007 for Ivan bilic for his publication "Negative regulation of CD8 expression via CD8 enhancer-mediated recruitment of the zinc finger protein MAZR." in Nature Immunol. 7:392, 2006
26-11-2007	Opening of the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Immune Modulation. Head: Barbara Bohle (Inst.f.Pathophysiology, MUW), Winfried F.Pickl heading Module 4
23-11-2007	40 Years Institute of Immunology Symposium at the Gesellschaft der Ärzte in Wien
01-10-2007	Starting Process for ISO 9001/2000 certification for our Immundiagnostic Laboratory. Planned to achieve in June 2008

SFB
At the beginning of 2005 the SFB "Mechanisms of Establishment and Maintenance of Immunological Tolerance" (Speaker Wilfried Ellmeier) has started.

Lectures

08-08-2007 Martin Oft (Schering-Plough BioPharma, Palo Alto, USA): "IL-23 turns immune surveillance into tumor promoting inflammation"

07-08-2007 Janko Nikolich-Zugich (Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, USA): "Age-related changes in CD8 T-cell homeostasis and maintenance in response to a persistent virus : heavy maintenance fees? 10-07-2007 Tobias Junt (Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Vienna): "Subcapsular sinus macrophages capture lymph-borne virus particles for presentation to B cells" 29-06-2007 Ranjeny Thomas (University of Queensland, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Australia): "Development of a therapeutic vaccine for rheumatoid arthritis" 28-06-2007 Thomas Fehr (University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland): "The role of indirect antigen presentation for allograft rejection and tolerance" 26-03-2007 Jochen Hühn (Charite, Berlin, Germany): "Functional properties of Foxp3+ regulatory T cells" 12-03-2007 Thomas Brocker (LMU Munich, Germany): "Dendritic Cell - CD8 T cell interactions in vivo" 26-02-2007 Steffen Jung (Weizman Institute, Rehovot, Israel): "Probing Origins and Functions of Dendritic cells" 13-02-2007 Ari Waisman (Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, Germany): "Studying the immunological tolerance in a mouse model for multiple sclerosis" 07-02-2007 Jens Schröder (Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel, Germany): "Antimicrobial Peptides: Local Host Response Elements" 25-01-2007 Sem Saeland, PhD (INSERM U503 Lyon, France): "Positioning Langerhans cells among the antigen-presenting cells of the skin"