In our division, clinicians and scientists work together to dissect the mechanisms through which the immune system protects us from invading pathogens/antigens and why it sometimes fails to do so or overreacts.

Research

Research performed by the Division of Immunology and Allergy includes both fundamental as well as applied clinical research. Senior scientists, post docs, PhD students, research assistants, doctors and biomedical laboratory scientists work closely together on research projects. Researchers strive to understand how the immune system works at the cellular and molecular levels to help the development of new therapies for diseases such as AIDS and tuberculosis. The Division of Immunology and Allergy focuses on several different areas of basic cellular immunobiology relevant for the understanding of host-pathogens interactions and vaccine design such as functional aspects of T lymphocytes, antiviral and mucosal immunity, generation of immunological tolerance in allergies and transplant patients.

In particular, we are actively pursuing the following research areas:

Antiviral immunity (HIV virology and immunity) Basic HIV research Neuroimmunology Primary immunodeficiency Transplantation (immune response regulation and tolerance) Tuberculosis Vaccine design and development

Researchers can rely on state of the art Clinical Immune-Monitoring Platform enabling them to develop new diagnostic tools as well as new vaccine candidates.

The division has a strong expertise in vaccine evaluation, with a specialized clinical investigation unit: the Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center (VIC) and an immune-monitoring laboratory. The VIC conducts phase I, II and III clinical trials in the field of vaccinology and immunology.

Through partnership and collaboration with other academic laboratories as well as the industry, the division bridges the gap between fundamental and clinical research to translate basic immunology into medicine.