Immunization is one of the most cost-effective public health measures, especially in the pediatric population that receives the majority of vaccines globally. Indeed, coordinated national vaccination programs lead to high vaccine coverage and a significant reduction of the burden from infectious diseases and associated mortality. However, there is a lack of understanding of the specific response induced by immunization in this special population. Also, there are still challenges ahead to develop new vaccines for current and emerging respiratory pathogens, including the understanding of the mechanisms of action of vaccine formulations in mucosal compartments. Using in vitro and in vivo models, our lab aims to use systems immunology approaches to analyze the mechanisms leading to the development of effective innate and adaptive immune responses to vaccination. Specifically, we focus on how adjuvants, vaccine components that are key to trigger innate responses, can enhance and shape adaptive immunogenicity in the respiratory tract.
The Lung Precision Medicine (LPM) research program is an interdisciplinary initiative that brings together scientists and clinicians interested in lung biology from the University of Bern and the University Hospital of Bern.
We seek to better understand homeostatic processes as well as pathological alterations underlying a broad variety of lung-related diseases, including asthma, allergies, lung fibrosis, COPD/emphysema, primary ciliary dyskinesia, autoimmunity, changes in connective tissue, respiratory viral and bacterial infections, and genetic variations. Questions such as how external factors including pathogens or environmental pollutants contribute to disease manifestation are central to our research.
While focusing on the lung as a whole, we also investigate different important subcomponents such as key cells involved in homeostasis as well as disease pathophysiology. Overall, we strive to provide state-of-the-art techniques and improve existing methods to study the respiratory system. In addition to animal models, we work with healthy donors’ and patient-derived biosamples, including pluripotent stem cells, to create personalized models of the respiratory tract. We investigate responses across different populations on lung-on-chip models, 3D cell cultures, organoids, and precision-cut slices of lung tissue and glands. Our core expertise further includes multi-OMICS approaches, complemented with imaging technologies, gene therapy and in vitro cell system exposure models.
Together, we aim to develop novel and innovative diagnostic, preventative and therapeutic approaches for the treatment of acute and chronic lung diseases.
