NEWS
2011 - 09 - 20 Four PhD theses of the Department of Immunology in 2011
Four PhD Students of the Department of Immunology , directed by Prof. Claude P. Muller recently defended successfully their PhD Thesis. The Department of Immunology has a unique network of international collaborations for the surveillance of viral pathogens important for human and animal health. The Department has the distinction of being a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center for Reference and Research on Measles Infections (WHO-CC) and a WHO Regional Reference Laboratory (RRL) for Measles and Rubella with responsibility for 21 European countries.
Read More
The Department is affiliated with the Graduate School of Psychobiology of the University of Trier, the Medical Faculty in Homburg/Saar of the University of Saarbrücken and the Graduate School BIOSE of the University of Nancy.
Training of Ph.D., M.D. students and laboratory staff of the WHO Network are important activities.
Simone Alt worked on the regulation of the cortisol receptor and identified important aberrations in patients with depression. Her thesis was done within the International Research Training Group, a collaboration with the University of Trier and the University of Leiden. Today Simone Alt is programme manager for life sciences at the EU service office of the Saarland University in Saarbrücken. She is author or co-author of 4 scientific publications.
Nancy Gerloff worked on the evolution of the pandemic influenza virus in Luxembourg and on H5N1 in Africa. During her PhD Nancy Gerloff has learned a broad range of techniques in virology and molecular biology as well as soft skills that are important for preparing for her future scientific career. The English speaking environment of the department of Immunology has prepared her for her new position as a post-doctoral scientist at the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, USA. She is author or co-author of 5 scientific publications.
Julia Kessler did her thesis on the molecular and epidemiological aspects of the measles virus and she has learned a broad range of scientific techniques. The English speaking environment of the department of Immunology has prepared her for her new position as a post-doctoral scientist at the Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, Queen's University in Belfast, United Kingdom. She is author or co-author of 5 scientific publications.
Mario Schellenberger worked during his doctorate on a prophylactic strategy against carcinogens. Mario Schellenberger continues to work at the Department of Immunology as a post-doctoral scientist on the TOBAVAC 3 project, which so far results in of 11 publications. He is author or co-author of 5 scientific publications.
All four students benefited from a Bourse FNR and AFR of the Ministry of Research, Luxembourg and the Fond National de la Recherche, Luxembourg. These four PhD theses bring the number of doctoral theses done at the Department of Immunology up to a total of 42, 11 more students are at different phases of their PhD.