InnatelyHuman - Omics bio-informatics and human immune cell precursor manipulation for greater relevance of human-focused research in innate immunity

01/07/2023 to 30/06/2027

Innate immunity in humans is strongly depending on pattern recognition receptors (PRR), which recognize microbial or other potentially dangerous molecules before activating an immune response. Knowledge about these receptors has been gained mainly in cancer cell lines or
in mouse experiments, which can be translated poorly into healthy humans. Novel technologies, such as CRISPR-Cas mediated gene editing and the rise of omics approaches, allow to study PRRs in more natural setting, thereby minimizing or replacing animal use in research and increasing the translational relevance of the results. In this
Momentum project, the applicant wants to make this step by hiring two researchers that cover cell manipulation and bioinformatics, respectively. Whereas one will establish gene-editing in hematopoietic immune stem cells, which so far has been described by one group only, the other will act as embedded bioinformatician that will be able to make sense of the omics data that will be generated in this venture.