Florian I. Schmidt

Florian I. Schmidt is a Principal Investigator and Assistant Professor at the Institute of Innate Immunity within the Medical Faculty of the University of Bonn. He leads the Molecular Immunology Group, focusing on molecular regulation of inflammation and antiviral defense mechanisms. His laboratory is part of the Cluster of Excellence 'Immunosensation2' at the University of Bonn and he has co-founded DiosCURE Therapeutics to develop neutralizing SARS-CoV-2 nanobodies for clinical applications.

Dr. Schmidt studied Biochemistry at TU Munich and obtained his PhD at ETH Zurich, where he investigated host cell entry of poxviruses. He received post-doctoral training at the Whitehead Institute/MIT, employing nanobody technology to gain mechanistic insights into inflammasome assembly and infection biology. In 2017, he returned to Germany to establish his independent research group through the prestigious Emmy Noether program of the German Research Foundation (DFG).

His research focuses on developing customized nanobodies and engineered protein tools to visualize and perturb inflammasome assembly, pyroptotic cell death, and antiviral immune responses. His laboratory aims to establish non-invasive methods to track inflammatory responses at molecular, complex, and cellular levels, creating experimental settings that address human immunobiology in its physiological environment. Current projects include SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing nanobodies, pyroptosis, organoids, inflammasome assembly, and antiviral innate immune signaling.

Dr. Schmidt's work demonstrates a strong trend toward applying nanobody technology to understand and modulate inflammatory pathways, particularly inflammasome activation. His research bridges basic molecular mechanisms with therapeutic applications, as evidenced by his co-founding of DiosCURE Therapeutics. His recent publications show increasing focus on the molecular details of pyroptosis, inflammasome activation through ribotoxic stress response, and development of nanobody-based therapeutics against viral infections and inflammatory conditions.

• Emmy Noether Program of the DFG (funding to establish independent research group)
• Co-founder of DiosCURE Therapeutics for clinical development of SARS-CoV-2 nanobodies

Dr. Schmidt actively mentors PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, including Florian Nikolaus Gohr, Lisa Schiffelers, Yonas Mehari Tesfamariam, and Jennifer Deborah Wuerth. His laboratory collaborates extensively within the University of Bonn's immunology research ecosystem, particularly with the laboratories of Eicke Latz, Felix Meissner, and Dagmar Wachten. Current research is supported by multiple DFG grants including SFB 1403, SFB TRR 237, SPP 1923, and the Emmy Noether Programme.

The Florian I. Schmidt Laboratory operates within the Institute of Innate Immunity at the University Hospital Bonn, located at the Biomedical Center (BMZ 2), Building 12, 2G, Venusberg-Campus 1, 53127 Bonn, Germany. The laboratory is part of a vibrant immunology research community within the Cluster of Excellence 'Immunosensation2', facilitating interdisciplinary collaborations across immunology, structural biology, and clinical medicine.