I explore innate immune responses against microbial pathogens. Our team aims to exploit new immunological insight to develop new diagnostic tools and antimicrobial therapies.
I am a Professor in immunology at the Department of Clinical Microbiology. I lead a dedicated research team studying the innate immune system, such as granulocytic neutrophils, mast cells and dendritic cells. Using a variety of immunological, biochemical and imaging techniques, we aim to elucidate how these innate immune cells recognize and combat microbial pathogens, namely viruses, bacteria and fungal organisms. In doing so, our ultimate goal is to apply fundamental knowledge gained from studies of immune mechanisms to identify new strategies for more accurate diagnostic tools and for improved antimicrobial therapies.
The foundation of independent research was formed by my PhD thesis work on cell wall proteins of the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans (University of Stuttgart, Germany) and a postdoctoral fellowship conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology (Berlin, Germany), where I studied innate immune responses to microbial pathogens.
In 2009, I was recruited as a group leader to the then newly formed Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS) located at the Department of Molecular Biology and in 2012 I started a tenure-track position funded by the Medical Faculty as a preclinical researcher in a clinical environment at the Department of Clinical Microbiology.