Molecular Targets and Therapeutics Center Institute of Virology

Our scientific interest is to better understand the interaction of hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) virus with their host and to develop new therapeutic strategies to treat chronic viral hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma.

The aim of our research is to elucidate the functional role of HERVs during stem cell differentiation and brain development using cutting-edge technologies including advanced CRISPR techniques in combination with human stem cell differentiation, the generation of brain organoids (mini brains in the dish) and bioinformatics analysis of large datasets.

Our lab is interested in the study of cell signaling pathways related to cell death and inflammation manipulated during host-pathogen interactions for novel therapeutic development.

The Deng lab uses an integrative approach combining single-cell technologies, culture-independent techniques, multi-omics, and machine learning to understand the underlying mechanisms of phage-host interactions and their impact on the human host. Ultimately, we aim to develop personalized phage-based treatments against multiple human diseases and conditions.

The main focus of our research is the analysis of the phenotype and functional properties of different immune cell populations mainly in the context of clinical trials. By doing so, we are aiming for an in depth understanding of cellular virus-host interactions to support the development of novel therapeutic interventions, e.g. by prediction of biomarker that identifies target engagement and predicts response to therapeutic interventions.

Research unit IMA-TCI studies the interaction of immunocytes with aberrant tissue cells in kidney liver and lung to provide new hypothesis for therapy improvement. Immune monitoring accompanying clinical trials shall identify new prognostic and predictive markers.

Our research focus is on the immune response against the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and EBV-associated disease. With a better understanding of how immunity against EBV is established, we seek to establish predictive markers for the development and novel strategies for the treatment of virus-associated disorders.

We are interested in the discovery and development of new potent antiviral compounds and in unravelling their mechanism of action to effectively fight different kinds of viruses that caused pandemics in the past (e.g. HIV, SARS-CoV-2) or have the potential to lead to future pandemics (e.g. Dengue virus).