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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

  • Helminth Antigens Modulate Virus-Induced Activation of CD154 (CD40L) Expression on T Cells in -Infected Individuals.

    Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland)

    Authors: Brice Armel Nembot Fogang, Kathrin Arndts, Tomabu Adjobimey, Michael Owusu, Vera Serwaa Opoku, Derrick Adu Mensah, John Boateng, Jubin Osei-Mensah, Julia Meyer, Ute Klarmann-Schulz, Sacha Horn, Inge Kroidl, Alexander Y Debrah, Achim Hoerauf, Manuel Ritter, Linda B Debrah

  • Temporal dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and IgG subclasses following multiple doses and diverse COVID-19 vaccine combinations.

    Frontiers in immunology

    Authors: Julia Meyer, Achim Hoerauf, Aleksandra Elzbieta Dubiel, Peđa Kovačević, Anika Trudić, Dragan Primorac, Marc P Hübner, Tomabu Adjobimey, Marijo Parcina

  • Impact of Infection on Cervical Mucosal Immunity and Human Papillomavirus Prevalence in Women from Lindi and Mbeya Regions, Tanzania.

    Tropical medicine and infectious disease

    Authors: Maureen Mosoba, Thomas F Marandu, Lucas Maganga, Jacklina Mhidze, Anifrid Mahenge, Jonathan Mnkai, Agatha Urio, Nhamo Chiwarengo, Liset Torres, Winfrida John, Abdallah Ngenya, Akili Kalinga, Upendo J Mwingira, Manuel Ritter, Achim Hoerauf, Sacha Horn, Christof Geldmacher, Michael Hoelscher, Mkunde Chachage, Inge Kroidl

All publications by Prof. Dr. med. Achim Hörauf