Vaccine protection in patients with cancer: Cancer patients are at high risk of infection and often respond poorly to vaccination. In our lab, we work to understand how cancer manipulates the immune system to cause dysregulation and how that affects responses to vaccines.
Epigenomics & Trained Immunity: Evidence suggest that certain vaccines provide protection not only against the pathogen they were designed for but also a variety of unrelated pathogens. This unspecific protection (Trained Immunity) is mediated by epigenomic reprogramming in immune cells. We work to understand how Trained Immunity can provide protection against infection in patients with cancer.
Single-cell analysis: Heterogeneity and plasticity are central features of the immune system, but it is unclear how they affect functionality. To target immune cells more efficiently during vaccination, detailed knowledge on their functionality at the single-cell level is paramount. In our lab, we use single-cell genomic and proteomic tools to determine how heterogeneity contributes to immunity.
