Ildiko Dunay

Head of the Institute for Inflammation and Neurodegeneration, Medical Faculty at the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg

My research group is studying the immunomodulatory function of parasites, that infect the CNS (Toxoplasma gondii and Plasmodium). T. gondii has a high seroprevalence in humans and also in animals, and the latent infection alters the hosts behavior. Moreover, in immunocompromised host, the reactivation of the latent infection leads to life threatening encephalitis. My research group is investigating the function of innate immune cells subsets in the CNS, moreover we study the interaction of the immune system with brain resident cells. In addition, we are keen to understand the underlying mechanisms, that are responsible for the specific behavioral changes in T. gondii infected individuals.

Keywords: CNS infection – neuroinflammation – immunoparasitology – neurodegendation – gut-brain axis

Location: OVGU (FME)

Webpage: Link