Speaker

Dr. Mike Cox

I am a microbial ecologist, who trained in the molecular ecology of atmospheric trace gas utilising marine bacteria and am now applying techniques from this field to understanding the respiratory microbiome in the context of human health and disease. I have worked with a wide-range of different diseases including cystic fibrosis, non CF bronchiectasis, COPD, asthma and community acquired pneumonia. I have an interest in techniques and was part of a team that identified ubiquitous contamination of DNA extraction kits commonly used in microbiome studies. I use culture, enrichment, 16S rRNA gene sequencing and metagenomics to attempt to understand how microbial communities respond to and influence their human host.

Arne Homann

Arne Homann is a Freelancer, managing clinical trial projects in oncology and cardiology for global pharma. After studies of Biotechnology at the TU Braunschweig he obtained a PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Würzburg in 2009. Arne Homann continued his academic career at the Scripps Institute, USA, in chemical biology. As a scientist at the Leibniz Center Borstel, he worked in the field of clinical immunology, especially with biologicals / therapeutic antibodies.

PD Dr. Rajkumar Savai

Dr. Rajkumar Savai is appointed as a Group Leader in the Department of Lung Development and Remodelling at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim, where he leads the research group “Molecular Mechanisms of Lung Cancer”. Dr. Savai is jointly appointed at the Department of Internal Medicine (Pulmonology/Oncology), at the University Hospital Giessen and Marburg. He is also project leader and member of the German Lung Center (DZL), Collaborative Research Center on Cardiopulmonary Systems (ECCPS) and Collaborative Research Centre on Lung Diseases (UGMLC). He has received several national and international awards in appreciation of his contribution to the field lung diseases. e.g. Dr. Herbert Stolzenberg award for best research in Medical faculty, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Germany, Sir John Vane award for Best Publication in Pulmonary Vascular Research at European Respiratory Society, Amsterdam, Netherlands and Early Career Achievement Award from the Thoracic Oncology Assembly, ATS International Conference in Washington D.C. USA. He published 57 research articles in well-renowned scientific journals such as Nature Medicine, Science Translational Medicine, Nature Chemical Biology, Circulation, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Journal of Experimental Medicine, Cancer Research, Oncogene, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine etc. Savai lab aimed to analyze basic cellular and molecular mechanisms of lung cancer growth and metastasis. Specifically, focused on the relationship between tumor cells and stromal cells in the lung microenvironment. They follow the view/ concept that increasing knowledge in this area is critical for further advances in the early diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of lung cancer.

Dr. Timo Sieber

Dr. Timo Sieber has been working in the field of Virology for more than ten years. Starting out with basic research on human Adenoviruses (University of Regensburg and Heinrich-Pette-Institute) he then shifted to development of targeted viral vectors from Adeno-Associated viruses. Currently he is working with Sysmex, Hamburg on the development of flow cytometry based tumor diagnostic assays. Apart from this he is active in science communication, participating in Science Slam and FameLab and authoring public science books (“Wilde Gene – Vom Verborgenen Leben in Uns” 2016 Rowohlt; “Ein Science-Slam-Buch”, 2017 Lektora).

Dr. Cristina Vilaplana

Dr. Cristina Vilaplana (Barcelona, 1975) is a physician, specialist in microbiology and parasitology, working as a PI within the Experimental Tuberculosis Unit at the Germans Trias i Pujol Foundation (IGTP). Her main lines of research are focused on the evaluation of therapeutic strategies to modulate the inflammation in TB, and in the search of biomarkers and other tools to improve TB patients disease course and management. Author of 59 scientific articles; she has has participated in 21 competitive R&D projects and has more than 15 years-experience in design and evaluation of new therapeutic strategies against TB, both in experimental animal models and in clinical studies. She is an associate professor at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), the co-inventor of 2 patents and the founding partner of a spin-off (www.manremyc.cat). Dr. Vilaplana is member of the collaborative networks CIBER Enfermedades Respiratorias, the Collaboration for TB Vaccine Discovery (CTVD) ad the Africa-Europe Host-Directed Therapies Network (HDT-Net). More info on her research, projects and papers can be found at: https://unitatdetuberculosiexperimental.wordpress.com/