Cellular and Molecular Immunology

The Department of Cellular and Molecular Immunology, consisting of three independent research groups, studies the transcriptional control of cellular differentiation and cell commitment in response to extracellular signals and intrinsic regulatory networks as well as the epigenetics of centromere identity. The overall goal of the laboratory headed by Rudolf Grosschedl is to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the generation of B lymphocytes from hematopoietic stem cells and the regulation of ES cell pluripotency. The laboratory of Eirini Trompouki studies transcription factor networks in hematopoietic stem cells and stress-induced hematopoiesis in Zebra fish. The laboratory of Nina Cabezas-Wallscheid deals with the molecular and cellular basis of the self-renewal of hematopoietic stem cells; and thus with the mechanisms and signals that put dormant hematopoetic stem cells into a dormant state.