Prof. Steffen Jung

Mononuclear phagocytes form a body-wide network of myeloid immune cells devoted to homeostasis maintenance and the immune defense of the organism.
We study these monocytes, dendritic cells and macrophages in physiology and pathophysiology using gene expression and epigenome profiling, as well as a combination of conditional mutagenesis, in vivo cell imaging, cell ablation and cell transfer strategies. Current focus is given to monocytes, as well as macrophages in the gut and brain. Specifically, we use small animal models to investigate contributions of these cells to inflammatory bowel disease and the role of microglia, monocyte-derived macrophages and perivascular brain cells in neuro-inflammation and - degeneration, as well as aging.