Andrea Ablasser
| Andrea Ablasser | |
|---|---|
 Andrea Ablasser in 2014 | |
| Born |
1983 (age 32–33) Bad Friedrichshall |
| Awards |
Jürgen Wehland Prize Paul Ehrlich Prize for Young Researchers |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater |
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich University of Massachusetts Harvard Medical School |
| Academic work | |
| Institutions |
University of Bonn École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne |
| Main interests | DNA sensors |
Andrea Ablasser (born 1983) is a German immunologist who works at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. Her research has focused on how the innate immune system is able to recognise virus-infected cells and pathogens.
Early life and education
Ablasser was born in 1983[1] to a physician father and mathematician mother. She was born in Bad Friedrichshall and moved at the age of three to Buchloe, where her father was the chief physician at the Buchloer Hospital. She attended Gymnasiums in Türkheim and Hohenschwangau, and was inspired by her father to study medicine at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU).[2] She completed part of her studies at the University of Massachusetts and did part of her practical training at Harvard Medical School.[1] When she finished her medical degree in 2008, she was ranked as one of the top ten students in Germany.[3] Although she initially wanted to pursue oncology, she chose to write a doctoral thesis in the field of immunology,[2] and received her doctorate from LMU in 2010.[1]
Career
After completing her doctorate, Ablasser followed her thesis supervisor from LMU to the University of Bonn.[2] She worked at the Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Pharmacology as the head of a junior research group. Her research focused on DNA sensors that allow the innate immune system to detect whether a cell is infected. She discovered a novel second messenger molecule that is produced by a particular DNA sensor and "alerts" nearby cells when it encounters a pathogen.[1] In 2013, she was awarded the Jürgen Wehland Prize by the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research for her research on the mechanisms by which the innate immune system recognises pathogens, and specifically her identification of receptors and regulatory molecules that are activated in virally infected cells.[3] In 2014, she won the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize for Young Researchers and the German GlaxoSmithKline Foundation's "Medical Research" Science Award.[4]
Ablasser was appointed assistant professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in the university's Global Health Institute in 2014.[5]
References
- 1 2 3 4 "The immunologist Dr. Andrea Ablasser receives the Paul Ehrlich Prize for Young Researchers" (Press release). Goethe University of Frankfurt. 14 March 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- 1 2 3 Utz, Stephanie (24 March 2014). "Kämpferin gegen den Krebs". Augsburger Allgemeine (in German). Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- 1 2 "Andrea Ablasser receives prize for junior scientists". Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research. 24 October 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- ↑ "Wissenschaftspreis 2014" (in German). GlaxoSmithKline Stiftung. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
- ↑ "10 Professorinnen und Professoren an den beiden ETH ernannt" (in German). ETH Domain. 7 March 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2015.