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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

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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

  • SARS-CoV-2 infection in dogs, dog owners, dog breeders, and veterinarians in the Ashanti and Greater Accra regions of Ghana-zoonotic implications.

    Frontiers in veterinary science

    Authors: Esther Amemor, Raphael Deladem Folitse, Achim Hoerauf, Marijo Parcina, Manuel Ritter, Vitus Burimuah, Bertha Asuamah Yeboah, Benjamin Obukowho Emikpe

  • Assessing the efficacy of high-dose rifampicin plus albendazole against onchocerciasis.

    PLoS neglected tropical diseases

    Authors: Monica Ahiadorme, Ute Klarmann-Schulz, Bettina Dubben, Jennifer Nadal, Patricia Jebett Korir, Kenneth Pfarr, Janina M Kuehlwein, Franziska Lenz-Plet, Arcangelo Ricchiuto, Emmanuel Donawobuge Kutu, Derrick Adu Mensah, Vera Serwaa Opoku, John Boateng, John Opoku, Jubin Osei-Mensah, Charles Gyasi, Prince Obeng, Eunice Kyaakyile Kuutiero, Michael Agyemang Obeng, Benjamin Emikpe, Abu Abudu Rahamani, Prince Dennis Atisu, Nana Kwame Ayisi-Boateng, Derrick Boateng Kontoh, Sampson Twumasi-Ankrah, Achim Hoerauf, Linda Batsa Debrah, Alexander Yaw Debrah

  • Constrained RNA polymerase mutational pathways distinguish corallopyronin A resistance from rifampicin resistance in staphylococci.

    Scientific reports

    Authors: Jesenko Karačić, Sabina Karačić, Miriam Grosse, Andrea Schiefer, Kenneth Pfarr, Tanja Schneider, Achim Hoerauf, Gabriele Bierbaum

All publications by Prof. Dr. med. Achim Hörauf