Lydia Kalafati

Lydia Kalafati is an Assistant Professor (W1 Junior Professorship) in the Faculty of Medicine at TUD Dresden University of Technology and Junior Group Leader of the Dresden Concept Research Group, a joint initiative with Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf and Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung. Her research group, 'Inflammation and Myelopoiesis,' studies how inflammatory cues regulate blood cell production and trained immunity in cancer and autoimmune diseases.

Her educational background includes:

• PhD in Immunology from TUD Dresden University of Technology (2022, summa cum laude)
• MSc in Molecular Basis of Human Diseases from University of Crete (2017, Excellent distinction)
• BSc in Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology from University of Crete (2011–2015)

Research interests center on:

• Immunological mechanisms: Trained immunity, neutrophil biology, and myeloid cell dynamics
• Disease applications: Cancer immunotherapy, inflammatory comorbidities, and autoimmune pathogenesis
• Technical approaches: Single-cell multi-omics, epigenetic mapping, and preclinical disease modeling

Her publications emphasize translational immunology, with recent work exploring granulopoiesis reprogramming for anti-tumor responses and mitochondrial dysregulation in autoimmunity. Awards include PhD honors for innovative cancer immunotherapy research.

Current projects leverage cross-disciplinary collaborations to develop biomaterial-enhanced cellular therapies, supported by advanced imaging and sequencing infrastructure. As an emerging group leader, she is establishing her team with a focus on myeloid immunology innovation.