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Prof. Dr. med. Achim Hörauf

Member, Steering-Committee Member

Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology

Medical Faculty, University of Bonn University Hospital of Bonn Sigmund-Freud-Strasse 25 53127 Bonn

achim.hoerauf@ukbonn.de

Website

Prof. Hörauf is internationally renowned for his work in Tropical Medicine, in particular for pioneering new drug treatments against filariasis (a group of neglected tropical diseases). The new treatment exploits an endosymbiosis between worms and bacterial endosymbionts called Wolbachia, which are susceptible to some classes of antibiotics. Prof. Hörauf’s group was the first to characterize a TLR2 ligand from Wolbachia and established that blindness in onchocerciasis (or ‘river blindness’) is dependent on innate immune reactions against Wolbachia. They were the first to detect regulatory T cells in humans in an infection. Modulation of host’s immune responses is another focus of Prof. Hörauf’s group, demonstrating that filarial infection and filarial antigen treatment protects against type 1 diabetes onset and improves glucose tolerance during obesity. Using expression quantitative trait loci analysis, the role of genetic factors in modulating cellular responses (to filarial antigens) and eventually filariae-caused pathology devel-opment is currently investigated. Beyond immunology, Achim Hoerauf has preclinically developed 4 new drugs against human filariasis which are now in clinical phase 1 and 2 studies, together with DNDi and pharma partners such as Abbvie, Bayer, and Esai.

Achim Hörauf

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Recent publications

  • Effect of Adding a Six-Week Course of Doxycycline to Intensive Hygiene-Based Care for Improving Lymphedema in a Rural Setting of Mali: A Double-Blind, Randomized Controlled 24-Month Trial.

    The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene

    Authors: Yaya I Coulibaly, Abdoul F Diabate, Moussa Sangare, Sekou O Thera, Housseini Dolo, Salif S Doumbia, Siaka Y Coulibaly, Ayouba Diarra, Lamine Diarra, Diadje Tanapo, Michel E Coulibaly, Lamine Soumaoro, Abdallah A Diallo, Amatigue Zeguime, Yacouba Sanogo, Adama Berthe, Fatoumata Dite Nene Konipo, Charles Mackenzie, Mariana Stephens, Joseph P Shott, Jayla Norman, Ute Klarmann-Schulz, Achim Hoerauf, Andrew Majewski, John Horton, Sarah Sullivan, Eric A Ottesen, Thomas B Nutman

  • Collider Bias Assessment in Colombian Indigenous Wiwa and Kogui Populations with Chronic Gastroenteric Disorder of Likely Infectious Etiology Suggests Complex Microbial Interactions Rather Than Clear Assignments of Etiological Relevance.

    Microorganisms

    Authors: Hagen Frickmann, Joy Backhaus, Achim Hoerauf, Ralf Matthias Hagen, Simone Kann

  • Active infection with Onchocerca volvulus and the linkage to epilepsy/nodding syndrome.

    PLoS neglected tropical diseases

    Authors: Kathrin Arndts, Josua Kegele, Manuel Ritter, Clarissa Prazeres da Costa, Achim Hoerauf, Andrea S Winkler

All publications by Prof. Dr. med. Achim Hörauf