Team
Olivia Majer - PI
I am a Max Planck Research Group Leader at the MPI for Infection Biology. Previously I was a postdoc fellow in the lab of Greg Barton at UC Berkeley (CA, USA) where I have discovered new cellular mechanisms of self/non-self discrimination of nucleic acid-sensing Toll-like receptors. I also worked shortly as a postdoc fellow in the lab of Helge Ewers at the FU Berlin (Germany) to perform super-resolution imaging on intracellular TLRs. I completed my PhD in the field of host-pathogen interactions under the supervision of Karl Kuchler at the Max Perutz Laboratories (Vienna, Austria).
My current research investigates how the spatial organization of innate immune receptors and their membrane dynamics contribute to immune homeostasis and how perturbations of these processes promote inflammation and autoimmunity. Twitter
Ee Lyn Lim - Postdoc
I obtained an undergraduate Master's degree in Biochemistry (MBiochem) at the University of Oxford, and then completed my PhD in tumor immunology at the Babraham Institute, University of Cambridge. Before joining the Majer lab, I was an Advanced Postdoctoral Fellow in the Sakaguchi lab, Immunology Frontier Research Center, Osaka University, studying the role of phosphoinositide-3-kinase signaling in regulatory T cells. My current research investigates endosomal heterogeneity in the context of nucleic acid-sensing Toll-like receptor signaling, expanding on my broader interests in the field of signal regulation in immunity.
Harshita Mishra - PhD student
I obtained my Bachelor‘s in Biotechnology from the Vellore Institute of Technology, India. I moved to Germany to complete my Master‘s in Molecular and Cellular Biology at Heidelberg University. During my master thesis, I investigated the spatial distribution and isoform specific functions of Clathrin light chains. To pursue my interests in spatial immune regulation further, I joined Olivia Majer's lab at the MPI where I am trying to understand how endosomal positioning affects the functioning of TLRs.
Anna Dingfelder - PhD student
I obtained my Bachelor’s Degree in Biology and my Master’s Degree in Integrated Immunology at the Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen. During my master thesis, I worked on sialic acid recognition by immune regulatory receptors on osteoclasts. To pursue my interests in immune cell decision-making, regulation of innate defense mechanisms and advanced imaging techniques, I joined Olivia Majer’s lab. In my PhD project, I will investigate TLR signaling and trafficking in response to external stimuli.
Fenja Blank - Master student
Currently, I am a Master's Biochemistry student at Freie Universität Berlin. I did my Bachelor thesis in the lab of Helge Ewers at FU Berlin, working on a novel optogenetic trafficking assay that allows the light-controlled delivery of a small number of transmembrane proteins to the plasma membrane. At the moment, my research interests are focusing on where endogenous TLR receptors are localized in macrophages and on deciphering the different downstream effects of TLR9 activation.
Oliver Thieck - Technical assistant
Alumni
Daniel Landsem - rotation student
Julian Bünting - rotation student
Ioulia Sampani - bachelor student