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Brander, Christian
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ICREA Research Professor at IrsiCaixa (Institut de Recerca de la Sida). Life & Medical Sciences
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Christian Brander graduated from the University of Bern in 1994 with a PhD in Immunology studying exogenous antigen re-presentation on HLA class and T-cell mediated hyper-reactivity to Penicillin. He then spent 13 years at Harvard University focusing on cellular immunity to viral infections and the impact that host genetics have on this immune response. He joined ICREA in 2008 with an appointment at the IrsiCaixa AIDS Research Institute to continue his work on host genetics and the cellular immunity to viral infections, including HIV, HCV and herpesviruses such as KSHV and EBV. He also serves as the scientific director of HIVACAT, the Catalan program for the development of a HIV vaccine, which unites 60 investigators at two premier HIV research centers in Barcelona, Irsicaixa and Hospital Clinic.
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Research Interests
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Our work focuses on the cellular immunity to viral infections in the immune compromised host, including HIV infected subjects and individuals undergoing solid organ transplantation. The main quest is the search for immune correlates of relative control of HIV and how to translate these findings into rational HIV vaccine design. The lab is using a series of ex-vivo immune analyses in samples from HIV infected individuals to identify regions of the virus where it is most vulnerable and try to better define the critical characteristics (avidity, cross-reactivity) of an effective T cell response to HIV.
Also, the lab addresses the immune reactivity to viral co-infections, including EBV, CMV and HCV in individuals who are either identified during acute HIV infection or who undergo solid organ transplantation. Both events reflect situations of massive immune perturbations from which we hope to gain deeper insights into the mechanisms of immune control of viral infections
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Key Words
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HIV, cellular immunity, host genetics, viral evolution, viral immunity in solid organ transplantation
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