Christina Zielinski

Prof. Christina Zielinski is a W3-Professor and Chair of the Department of Infection Immunology at the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (Hans Knöll Institute) and University of Jena. She leads a dynamic research group focused on human T cell regulation in health and disease, with particular expertise in Th17 cells and their role in fungal infections like Candida albicans.

Her research addresses fundamental questions about how protective and pathogenic T cell memory responses are shaped in human health and disease. Key areas of investigation include:

• Regulation of human T cells in physiological and pathological contexts
• Communication of human T cells with the tissue microenvironment
• Identification of pharmacological targets for T cell-based immunotherapies
• Mechanisms of tissue resident immunological memory
• Reciprocal interactions of T cells with fungi, microbiota, metabolites, and ions

Prof. Zielinski's work has important translational implications for chronic infections, autoimmunity, and cancer. Her lab uses a translational and interdisciplinary approach combining analysis of healthy and pathological tissue samples with cutting-edge technologies, gene editing, and high-dimensional data analysis. Recent research has revealed how sodium chloride enhances T cell metabolic fitness in the tumor microenvironment and how Th17 cells engage gasdermin E pores to release IL-1α.

Prof. Zielinski has received numerous prestigious awards including the medac research award 2023, Paul Langerhans Preis (2020), and the Celgene Award for Innovation in Inflammation and Immunology Research (2012). She was elected to the Board of the Germany Society for Immunology in 2023 and serves on the Editorial Board of the European Journal of Immunology.

As a dedicated mentor, Prof. Zielinski is passionate about supporting junior scientists, particularly female scientists. She leads the Zielinski Lab, a young, ambitious, international, and interdisciplinary team of researchers. The lab is involved in several research projects including the ORGANise-T project funded by the European Research Council and the Collaborative Research Center 'FungiNet' focused on fungal infections.