Welcome

The Division of Molecular Immunology was established in 1997 as the first independent research division at the University Hospital in Erlangen. In the same year, Hans-Martin Jäck was appointed as the first director. The Division is located in the Nikolaus Fiebiger Center and consists of four research groups with a total of 22 members.

Our primary research activities concentrate on molecular aspects of the humoral immune response in health and disease. In particular, we want to decipher how small non-coding RNAs (miRNA and lncRNAs), metabolic re-programming, anti-inflammatory metabolites, the microbiota of the gut, the micromilieu, and selected transcription factors control the differentiation of B cells into memory B cells and antibody-secreting plasma cells and maintain humoral memory and B cell tolerance. We also develop human therapeutic antibodies against pathological B cell and plasma cell subsets and cytokines in a genetically modified mouse model carrying only human antibody genes.

We are also committed to teaching and training young scientist. To reach these goals, we have developed a teaching curriculum in immunology for bachelor and master students. We also established the first doctoral training group based on a US Ph.D. program that is entirely funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and allows postgraduate students with a bachelor’s degree to receive a Ph.D. without a master’s degree.