Qualifications:

PhD in medicine, Semmelweis Medical School, 1998
Residency in Microbiology, 1995
PGCAP in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, Plymouth University, 2013 

Research interests:

Molecular mechanisms of lung macrophage functions in health and disease

Macrophages are crucially involved in various diseases such as Infectious and environmental pathogen induced conditions, cancer and metabolic disorders and also in normal tissue homeostasis. These cells exhibit, depending on their anatomical location, distinct biological properties. Studies exploring macrophages are of high scientific and clinical interest, but are hampered by the limited life-span and restricted numbers of primary tissue macrophages that can be obtained for such experiments. We established a novel, continuously growing, non-transformed model of lung alveolar macrophages (AMs), cells that play key roles in important diseases such as lung infection, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This model can replace and reduce in vivo studies involving macrophages and can contribute to the saving of lives of a very high number of experimental animals. Importantly, using our new system the detailed molecular analysis of scarcely available alveolar macrophages is possible. This made possible the identification of several, previously unknown innate immune phenomena in AMs (Fejer et al; PNAS 2013). Our laboratory now analyses the underlying molecular details using methods of molecular immunology, cell biology and proteomics. These studies help to understand relevant mechanisms of AM biology and lung diseases and can contribute to the development of drugs that influence AM activity in various pathology states.

British Society for Immunology (BSI)