Prof. Dr. Uta Behrends
Academic Career and Research Areas
Prof. Behrends (*1963) conducts research in the field of infectious immunology, immunoprevention and immunotherapy. One focus of her translational scientific work is inflammatory, autoimmune and oncogenic diseases associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Her core projects deal with the development of new strategies for diagnostics, therapy and prevention, including projects on complications of glandular fever (IMMUC study), adoptive T cell therapy and vaccine development. These projects are funded by the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) and are carried out in close cooperation with Helmholtz Zentrum München (HMGU). Another focus is translational, clinical and health services research projects on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) in children, adolescents and young adults. For this purpose, there is a close collaboration with the Charité Fatigue Centrum (CFC). Prof. Behrends leads the MRI Chronic Fatigue Center (MCFC) for young people and, in cooperation with the Charité, a multicenter, cross-age patient registry with biobank for ME/CFS. In the context of the pandemic, several research projects on COVID and Long COVID in children, adolescents and young adults have been established.
Her studies of human medicine at the universities of Göttingen, Lübeck, München, Glasgow, and New Orleans were followed by scientific education at the Helmholtz Center Munich (HMGU) and by clinical training as pediatrician and pediatric hematooncologist at the children’s hospital of TUM. Since 2001, Prof. Behrends has headed a research group at both sites. In 2010, she was appointed to a professorship for pediatric infectiology and immunobiology at TUM.
Key Publications (all publications)
Jakob CEM, Borgmann S, Duygu F, Behrends U, Hower M, Merle U, Friedrichs A, Tometten L, Hanses F, Jung N, Rieg S, Wille K, Grüner B, Klinker H, Gersbacher-Runge N, Hellwig K, Eberwein L, Dolff S, Rauschning D, von Bergwelt-Baildon M, Lanznaster J, Strauß R, Trauth J, de With K, Ruethrich M, Lueck C, Nattermann J, Tscharntke L, Pilgram L, Fuhrmann S, Classen A, Stecher M, Schons M, Spinner C, Vehreschild JJ: “First results of the "Lean European Open Survey on SARS-CoV-2-Infected Patients (LEOSS)"”. Infection. 2021; 49(1): 63-73.
AbstractSteiner S, Sotzny F, Bauer S, Na IK, Schmueck-Henneresse M, Corman VM, Schwarz T, Drosten C, Wendering DJ, Behrends U, Volk HD, Scheibenbogen C, Hanitsch LG: “HCoV- and SARS-CoV-2 Cross-Reactive T Cells in CVID Patients”. Front Immunol. 2020; 11: 607918.
AbstractAdhikary D, Damaschke J, Mautner J, Behrends U: “The Epstein-Barr Virus Major Tegument Protein BNRF1 Is a Common Target of Cytotoxic CD4+ T Cells”. J Virol. 2020; 94(15): e00284-20.
AbstractCirac A, Stützle S, Dieckmeyer M, Adhikary D, Moosmann A, Körber N, Bauer T, Witter K, Delecluse HJ, Behrends U, Mautner J: “Epstein-Barr virus strain heterogeneity impairs human T-cell immunity“. Cancer Immunol Immunother. 2018; 67(4): 663-674.
AbstractLoebel M, Eckey M, Sotzny F, Hahn E, Bauer S, Grabowski P, Zerweck J, Holenya P, Hanitsch LG, Wittke K, Borchmann P, Rüffer JU, Hiepe F, Ruprecht K, Behrends U, Meindl C, Volk HD, Reimer U, Scheibenbogen C: “Serological profiling of the EBV immune response in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome using a peptide microarray”. PLoS One. 2017; 12(6): e0179124.
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