We work on unraveling intrinsic changes in hematopoietic and intestinal stem cells upon aging as well as how the niche is affecting stem cell behaviour. Furthermore, we investigate the involvement of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in an aging immune system and the causes and consequences of HSC transformation.

We are interested in the aging of the immune system, from HSCs to effector cells.

The outstanding relevance of immune senescence in the aging process, along with the increased incidence and mortality rate associated with changes in blood cell formation in elderly patients places hematopoiesis into the focus of age research. We generate and use innovative mouse models to explore the function of hematopoietic stem (HSC) and progenitor (HPC) cells and immune cells from mice and humans. We focus on the understanding of the regulation of blood cell homeostasis, including HSC and blood cell generation and turn-over during steady-state and under inflammatory/infectious conditions during the aging process.