Ivo Steinmetz

Ivo Steinmetz is a Professor at the Diagnostic and Research Institute of Hygiene, Microbiology and Environmental Medicine at the Medical University of Graz. His research focuses on understanding genetic and environmental mechanisms of disease, particularly bacterial pathogens like Burkholderia pseudomallei, which causes melioidosis. His team investigates immune defense mechanisms, virulence strategies, and lipid metabolism in host-pathogen interactions to identify therapeutic targets. Current projects include analyzing pro-inflammatory cell death pathways, developing multiplex antibody detection tests, and studying in-host bacterial evolution.

Research Highlights:

• Host-pathogen interaction dynamics
• Phage-mediated bacterial virulence mechanisms
• Multi-antigen vaccine candidate identification
• Lipid-hydrolyzing enzymes as drug targets

Collaborations: Steinmetz collaborates with institutions like the University of Oxford, Vietnam National University, and the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, among others.