Title: Development and functions of γδ T cells in neonates
Lecturers: Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Sarina Ravens
University Hannover
Organizer: Rixa Köhn & Bianca Balzasch
Title: Development and functions of γδ T cells in neonates
The early fetal thymus produces highly functional cells and these include gamma delta T cells. Gd T cells provide as highly functional cells protection against pathogens in utero and ensure a good start in life. Neonates, especially those born prematurely, are a susceptible group of patients. Longitudinal profiling of human gamma delta T cells in neonatal and infant cohorts revealed dynamic postnatal maturation patterns with a further link to thymic activity. In infectious diseases, the identification of expanded CD83+ gamma delta T cells in neonatal sepsis highlights a potential ability to adapt to the required functional needs.
About the speaker:
Sarina Ravens completed her doctorate at the Université de Strasbourg in 2014. As postdoctoral researcher she studied the antigen receptor repertoires of gamma delta T cells in Immo Prinz’s working group at the Institute of Immunology at Hannover Medical School. She was able to show an adaptive immune response of gamma delta T cells following reactivation of the cytomegalovirus after stem cell transplantation, which thus offers an interesting perspective for cell therapy.
Since 2018 Sarina Ravens has been a project leader. In 2020 she was appointed to the professorship for Human Systems Immunology in the Cluster of Excellence RESIST at Hannover Medical School. Scientifically she is interested in the biology of early life derived T cells like the gamma delta T cells. Using systems biology approaches and in vitro methods, she and her research group are investigating the underlying mechanisms of their development and functional adaptation before and after birth as well as their functions in the defense against infection in early life.
Together with the YI podcast host Nóra Balzer, YI proudly presents the start of the second podcast season! New content on academic research topics and beyond will be published every month.
In this special holiday edition, the Young Immunologist Board of the German Association of Immunology has shared their top advice to help YOU level up your scientific career in 2025. Whether you’re just starting out in your PhD or gearing up for your next big career move, this episode is packed with tips you don’t want to missent of the biotech field. The gender gap in science startups and the mindset change in science towards entrepreneurship are debated as well.
Tune in: all ImmunoChat episodeWe also encourage you to revisit some of our current episodes. Whether you’re catching up on missed episodes or re-listening to your favorites, there’s plenty of content to keep you engaged and informed.
Curious? Follow the link and let us know your thoughts via our socials or e-mail to youngimmunologists@dgfi.org.
Read about the podcast in EJI (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eji.202350595).
Programming skills are becoming more important. Our YI* Coding Club conducts in-person meetups with advanced researchers, an online seminar including a hands-on tutorial by one of our YI members and an online summer programming session on R introduction focused on data visualization. Find us on a slack channel in the YI community slack workspace.
In this series of lectures, the DGfI Commission on Gender Equality and Career Development provides a forum for excellent female immunologists. They will share their exciting research, but also talk about their experiences in forming a career as women in STEM (=MINT).
Programme
29.01.2025 | 4-6pm | Prof. Dr. Susana Minguet
21.05.2025 | 4-6pm | Prof. Dr. Eva Tolosa
Further activities:
- Regular local round-table meetings: For example, in Hamburg and Freiburg these meetings were organised in person and we encourage you to implement this in your city as well - maybe also in an online format! Find out who works in your area and get involved with YI members across Germany and Europe through our „YI Community“ in Slack!
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YI contributions for the Annual DGfI meetings
- Young Immunologists Symposium: YI members can present their work on the big stage to gain valuable presentation experience and chances to win attractive prizes!
- YI Social Evening to foster networking and exchange
- To support researchers with young children we organize on-site childcare.
- YI lunch session which includes the YI General Assembly followed by an open discussion round
- YI booth at the industry exhibition
yEFIS:
The EFIS Young Immunologist Task Force (yEFIS) aims to gather all early career scientists in Europe working in Immunology. Within the different European Immunology Societies, self-organised Young Immunologist (YI) groups have arisen in the last years. However, there has been limited contact between them. The aim of yEFIS Task Force is to bring all these YI groups together and build a European network to defend our interests on both a national and European level. EFIS provided us the ideal platform to start up this network and this is how in 2020 yEFIS Task Force and yEFIS Network were born.
On July 30, yEFIS had their kick-off meeting. 70 interested young immunologists from the whole of Europe tuned in. With Santiago Costas (our official representative of the DGfI YI at yEFIS), Ellen McAllister and Anne Hahn, three of our DGfI YI board members have been deeply involved in the set-up.
yEFIS already has 270 members from 20 different European countries! You can see how widely yEFIS covers Europe already. Check out the EFIS website for further information incl. registration.