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Scientist at sterile bench

Cluster of Excellence ImmunoSensation²

Immunology as a key to better health

ImmunoSensation2 is a Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bonn funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). We are dedicated to the study of innate immunity beyond the boundaries of classical immunology. We address the immune system as a sensory organ for health, which we term the immune sensory system. We are immunologists, neurobiologists, systems biologists, biochemists, biophysicists and mathematicians from the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Bonn, the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) of the Helmholtz Association.

Founded in 2012, ImmunoSensation2 is currently in its fourteenth year of funding. We will continue to pursue our mission of innovative science in immunology. Further, we link immunology to other systems, such as the metabolic system and the nervous system. Ultimately, we want to better understand the intimate connection between the immune sensory system and human health and disease. The cluster will contiune as ImmunoSensation³ for a funding period of another 7 years, starting 2026, taking immune diversity into focus.

Members & Publications


Members

Members database


Publications

Publications database

News

News_Lukacs-Kornek

Publication

Obesity causes lungs to age prematurely

—What effects does severe obesity have on the lungs? A research team led by Prof. Dr. Veronika Lukacs-Kornek from the ‘ImmunoSensation2’ Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bonn and the Institute for Molecular Medicine and Experimental Immunology (IMMEI) at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) investigated this question. The results suggest that obesity causes the lungs to age faster. The findings have been published in the journal ‘Cell Reports’.
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Focus

Human Immunome Project Announces Scientific Partner Network

—The Human Immunome Project (HIP) – a global NGO using artificial intelligence and big data to unlock the secrets of the human immune system in health and disease – today announced its Scientific Partner Network with nine founding institutional members on five continents. This landmark alliance brings together the world’s leading systems immunologists, clinical scientists, AI experts, and human biologists to establish common human study protocols and data standardization approaches that will be used to build the largest dataset of human immunological profiles.
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filamentous actin structures in T cells

Publication

How Cell Skeleton Defects Can Teach Immunology

—For immune cells, the actin cytoskeleton is more than a structural scaffold. Immune cells can migrate to sites of infection or form precise, short-lived contacts with other cells, by constantly reshaping their actin cytoskeleton. Genetic errors in the molecular machinery controlling actin dynamics lead to impaired immunity, and often to autoimmunity and chronic inflammation. An overview of the current state of research on immune-related actinopathies, prepared by scientists arround ImmunoSensation² member Prof. Kaan Boztug, has now been published in Nature Reviews Immunology.
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Upcoming events

Poster announcing the 2025 Cluster Science Days

Featured Conference Hybrid

Registration open: The Cluster Science Days '25

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registration deadlines
on-site participation: October 21st
online participation: November 11th

Poster for Immuno Talk
© ImmunoSensation

Featured Lecture On-site

Immuno Talk

BMZ II, Seminar Room, Venusberg-Campus

Ranen Aviner, PhD, Group leader at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub-San Francisco is giving a talk entitled "ADAR1 Links Innate Immunity and Translation Fidelity to Restrict Viral Infection"

  • On-site

    Mayo Clinic Visit to the University Hospital Bonn

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    Teaching Building (Lehrgebäude A10) and BMZ I Lecture Hall (B13.1UG.303)

    Join the congress on Multi-Organ Manifestations of Rheumatologic Diseases, featuring a special focus on Giant Cell Arteritis and other key conditions.

  • Workshop Online

    SciCom Focus: Writing

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    online (zoom)

    The "SciCom Workshop Series" equips PhD students and postdocs with practical tools to present their work clearly and confidently across formats: writing and media to stage and video.

Events overview

Insights

Immunosensation 360°

Follow us on a virtual tour into the institutes and laboratories of ImmunoSensation2!

The 360° experience allows you to embark on an exciting journey, exploring the diversity of immunological research performed at ImmunoSensation2. Let our scientists guide you through the sites of scientific excellence and introduce you to the amazing world of the immune system.

Multimedia report "Beyond the Boundaries"

In our multimedia report "Beyond the boundaries" we introduce some of our outstanding group leaders. We take a closer look on their scientific work and their career paths within ImmunoSensation2, highlighting their innovative research approaches as well as the excellent research environment at the University of Bonn.

 

The report introduces