Immune Engineering – Team Leo Hanke

We are broadly interested in pathogens and the immune responses they elicit, with a particular emphasis on emerging and re-emerging viruses. We develop molecular tools that allow us to interrogate fundamental aspects of infection and immunity. Our goal is to leverage these insights to guide the rational design of vaccines and targeted therapies.

Immune Engineering

Our lab integrates a range of approaches across virology, computational methods, structural biology, and biochemistry to study pathogens and the immune responses they elicit. We systematically use small specific inhibitors, such as camelid nanobodies and computationally designed proteins, to target pathogens and extract new mechanistic insights that are otherwise challenging to obtain at scale. 

Through rational protein engineering along with chemical and enzymatic modification strategies, we functionalize our proteins for a growing list of biomedical applications, which can enhance detection, permit tracing, or facilitate immune recruitment. Our efforts aim to deepen the fundamental understanding of infection, ultimately guiding the rational design of effective vaccine antigens and targeted therapies.

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  • Byskata, Karin