Why We Need Cell Death in the Immune System and How a Cell Kills Itself

Individual cells in the human body can kill themselves in a variety of ways, and they do this most commonly by apoptosis. The immune system uses apoptosis particularly in selection, in the cell-autonomous defence against pathogens and to terminate an immune response. Our increasing understanding of apoptotic initiation and signal transduction permits an increasingly precise analysis of apoptosis in the immune system. Molecular principles and examples of these uses of cell death in the defence against pathogens will be discussed.

Professor Georg Häcker studied human medicine at the University Ulm, where he got his medical examination and his doctoral degree. From 1991 to 1993 Georg Häcker was resident doctor and scientist at the Technical University Munich (TUM). In 1993, Georg Häcker went for a DFG training fellowship to the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research (WEHI) in Melbourne. He returned to the TUM in 1996, where he worked as a group leader, lecturer, and consultat. In 1998 he got his habilitation in medical microbiology and immunology. From 2000 to 2009, Georg Häcker was professor at the Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene of the TUM. Since July 2009, he is head of the Department of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene of the University of Freiburg.

Moderation: Professor Dr. Barbara Bröker