PhD Projects

A) Cell migration in immunosurveillance and inflammation

Mounting a specific immune response requires the timely interaction of various immune cell types within secondary lymphoid organs. Studies on the regulation and function of homing receptors in T lymphocytes and on how these receptors orchestrate cell positioning and interactions with other immune cells in secondary lymphoid tissues are central to our understanding of immune responses. Several PhD projects are dedicated to study immune cell migration into peripheral organs with a strong focus on the central nervous system (CNS) in the context of immunosurveillance and inflammation in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), as a model for multiple sclerosis, in particular studies on the cellular and molecular cues guiding T cell subsets across the epithelial blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier (BCSFB) and the multistep T cell interactions with the inflamed blood-brain barrier (BBB) during EAE as well as detailed analysis of the phenotype, function and chemokine receptor expression in autoreactive T cells in MS patients.

Completed PhD thesis within this frame

Amandine Brenna, Graduation January 7th, 2026 (Group Britta Engelhardt, UNIBE)
Defining the exit routes of encephalitogenic Th17 cells from the choroid plexus into the central nervous system

Pelin Kasap, Graduation April 28th, 2025 (Group Britta Engelhardt, UNIBE)
Towards Building an Isogenic Human Neurovascular Unit-on-a-Chip to Study the Blood-Brain Barrier in Health and Disease

Javier Pareja, Graduation June 6th, 2024 (Group Britta Engelhardt, UNIBE)
Unveiling the cellular and molecular pathways of CD8+ T cells migration across the CNS barriers

Sasha Soldati, Graduation July 5th, 2023 (Group Britta Engelhardt, UNIBE)
Targeting T-cell migration to the central nervous system in the context of multiple sclerosis

Coline Barnoud, Graduation March 17th, 2023 (Group Christoph Scheieremann, UNIGE)
Time-of-day effect on adaptive immune responses and central nervous system autoimmunity

Hélène Poinot, Graduation September 12th, 2023 (Group Carole Bourquin, UNIGE)
Targeting the Glucocorticoid Pathway Improves the Outcome of Immunotherapyin a Renal Cancer Model

Eloïse Dupuychaffray, Graduation December 13th, 2023 (Group Carole Bourquin, UNIGE)
The impact of obesity on the response to immune checkpoint inhibitors

Petra Pfenninger, Graduation May 3rd, 2022 (Group Jens Stein, UNIFR)
Nucleofection-based CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing of naïve and in vitro-activated primary mouse CD8⁺ T lymphocytes

Stefanie Wissmann, Graduation Nov 18th, 2022 (Group Jens Stein, UNIFR)
Interplay of guanine exchange factors and phosphoinositide-3 kinase signaling during physiological B and T cell migration

Stefano Bagatella, Graduation October 31st, 2022 (Group Anna Oevermann, UNIBE)
Bovine neutrophils and Listeria monocytogenes investigations on chemotactic factors, dynamics of interaction and bacterial persistence

Julia Wagner, Graduation July 14th, 2021 (Group Carole Bourquin, UNIGE)
Potential and Challenges in Improving Cancer Immunotherapy with Agonists for Nucleic Acid Sensors

Nathalie Steinhoff, Graduation November 25th, 2020 (Group Carole Bourquin, UNIGE)
Mechanisms of T-cell recruitment into gastric tumors in CEA424-SV40 T Ag mice

Sandra Hocevar, Graduation January 28th, 2020 (Group Carole Bourquin, UNIGE)
Understanding the interactions of gold nanoparticles with B lymphocytes in vitro and in vivo

Luca Marchetti, Graduation December 2019 (Group Britta Engelhardt, UNIBE)
Combining live cell imaging and RNA-seq analysis to unveil cellular and molecular mechanisms directing T-cell migration across the blood-brain barrier

Mariana Castro Dias, Graduation October 2019 (Group Britta Engelhardt, UNIBE)
The role of the brain-barrier tight junctions in neuroinflammation
Award: Best Thesis of the Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, 2019

Miguel Palomino Segura, Graduation October 30th, 2018 (Group Santiago F. González, IRB Bellinzona)
Role of Innate Immunity in the Protection against Influenza Infection

Inès Mottas, Graduation May 5th, 2018 (Group Carole Bourquin, UNIGE)
Nanoparticles for lymph node delivery of antigenic peptides or immunostimulants to improve cancer immunotherapy

Flavian Thelen, Graduation March 28th, 2018 (Group Jens Stein, TKI, UNIBE)
Tissue resident memory T cell surveillance of exocrine gland is guided by three dimensional macrophage scaffold

Xenia Ficht, Graduation January 22nd, 2018 (Group Jens Stein, TKI, UNIBE) 
Mechanisms underlying tissue-resident memory T cell surveillance of non-lymphoid tissues

Yağmur Farsakoğlu, Graduation January 26th, 2018 (Group Santiago F. González, IRB Bellinzona)
Role of Innate Immune Cells in Response to Influenza Vaccination

Wypych Thomasz, Graduation March 21st, 2016 (Group Sallusto, IRB Bellinzona)
The role of B cells as antigen presenting cells in a mouse model of asthma.

Stephanie Uster, Graduation March 2nd, 2016 (Groups Britta Engelhardt, TKI, UniBE & Seitz Inselspital Bern)
Effects of anti-TNFα therapy on the distribution of osteoclast precursors in a murine antigen induced arthritis model.

Aleksandra Ozga, Graduation December 15th, 2015 (Group Jens Stein, TKI, UNIBE)
The Impact of pMHC Affinity on Differentiation and Expansion of CD8+ T Cells.Karthik Sathiyanadan; Graduation January 30, 2014 (Group Engelhardt TKI)
In vivo analysis of the multistep-recruitment of different leukocyte subpopulations across the blood-brain-barrier: molecular cues beyond

Neda Haghayegh, Graduation November 20th, 2015 (Group Britta Engelhardt, UNIBE)
Involvement of ICAM-1 and ICAM-2 in the pathogenesis of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE)

Ivana Lazarevic
Graduation November 20th, 2015 (Group Britta Engelhardt, UNIBE) T cell trafficking across the blood cerebrospinal fluid barrier.Michael Abadier
Graduation September 12th, 2014 (Group Ruth Lyck, TKI, UNIBE) Cell surface levels of endothelial ICAM-1 decide on transcellular or paracellular T cell diapedesis across the blood-brain barrier

Markus Ackerknecht; Graduation December 10, 2014 (Group Jens Stein,TKI, UNIBE)
In vivo analysis of motility-inducing factors governing CD4+ T cell migration and activation.

B) Cell migration in tumorigenesis and metastasis

Malignant cell transformation is the result of the accumulation of multiple genetic and epigenetic cell-autonomous events leading to uncontrolled cell proliferation and survival. Transformed cells, however, require support from the surrounding normal tissue (i.e. the tumor microenvironment) in order to progress to life-threatening invasive and metastatic cancers. The tumor microenvironment is mainly composed of cancer-associated fibroblasts, angiogenic blood and lymphatic endothelial cells, immune, inflammatory and bone marrow-derived cells (BMDC) and newly deposited or modified extracellular matrix. Cell migration is key to many events of cancer progression. Tumor cells acquire migratory and invasive capacities during transformation and migration is necessary for metastatic spreading; angiogenic endothelial cells migrate toward the growing tumors, and immune, inflammatory and BMD-cells migrate to primary tumors and metastatic sites. These PhD projects address important aspects of cancer research involving cell migration.

Completed PhD thesis within this frame

Burak Kizil, December 6th, 2023 (Group Christoph Scheieremann, UNIGE)
The sympathetic nervous system and natural killer cell activity in rhythmic anti-tumor immune responses

Chen Wang, October 18th, 2022 (Group Christoph Scheieremann, UNIGE)
Circadian control of anti-tumor immune responses

Tommaso Virgilio, Graduation December 15th, 2021 (Group Santiago F. González, IRB Bellinzona)
The effect of the inflammatory reaction on the lymphatic metastasis of melanoma

Thibaud Spinetti, Graduation March 31st, 2017 (Group Carole Bourquin, UNIFR/UNIGE)
The role of TLR-mediated activation of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) on their ability to migrate into tumors.

Marina Treines-Fertig, Graduation July 11th, 2016 (Group Carole Bourquin, UNIFR/UNIGE)
Immunotherapy of gastric cancer: Enhancing T cell recruitment into tumor.

Christoph Wyss, Graduation February 2nd, 2016 (Group Curzio Rüegg, UNIFR)
Mechanisms of migration of brain metastatic cells across the blood-brain barrier

C) Role of chemokine receptors and soluble factors in cell migration

Cell migration is fundamental to immunosurveillance and inflammation but also to tumor invasion and metastatic dissemination. Chemokines and their receptors play a central role in positioning both immune and tumor cells within the organism. Chemokines are endogenous molecules that control the migration of circulating cells by making them move across the vascular wall and along surface-bound chemokine gradients to their destination. In the immune system, this is relevant to the recirculation of lymphocytes through lymphatic tissues as well as to the recruitment of leukocytes to tissues during acute or chronic inflammation. In cancer, in addition to migration, chemokines also promote tumor cell proliferation and survival.
These PhD projects address the roles of chemotactic factors and their cognate receptors in myeloid, lymphoid and tumor cell migration:

Completed PhD thesis within this frame

Nadine Anslinger, Graduation November 26th, 2025 (Group Daniel Legler, BITG)
Exploring Model Systems to Investigate Dendritic Cell Immune Functions

Leonhard Schink, Graduation November 24th, 2025 (Group Daniel Legler, BITG)
From Tail to Trail: Investigating the Impact of CCR7 C-terminal Truncation Mutations on Receptor Signaling Dynamics and Immune Cell Migration

Oliver Gerken, Graduation October 10th, 2025 (Group Daniel Legler, BITG)
Atypical Chemokine Receptors in Scavenging Homing Chemokines and Beyond

Marc Artinger, May 4th, 2023 (Group Daniel Legler, BITG)
The CCR7 glycocalyx shape in controlling receptor function and ligand recognition

Betül Taskoparan, Graduation May 3rd, 2022 (Group Carole Bourquin, UNIGE)
Role of Intratumoral HMGB1 in the Antitumor Immune Response

Guerric Samson, Graduation December 2021 (Group Daniel Legler, Biotechnology Institute Thurgau)
The role of flotillin-2 in immune cell migration

Lukas Altenburger, Graduation September 22nd, 2021 (Group Jens Stein, UniFR)
Dynamic control of T cell activation in lymphoid and non- lymphoid tissues

Barbara Jakobs, Graduation December 2019 (Group Daniel Legler, Biotechnology Institute Thurgau)
Engineering of Nanobodies for the Human Chemokine Receptor CCR7

Sabrina Casella, Graduation August 2019 (Group Macrus Thelen, IRB Bellinzona)
The biochemistry of ACKR3 and its role in diffuse large B cell lymphoma

Rafet Ameti, Graduation July 2019 (Group Marcus Thelen, IRB Bellinzona)
Role of ACKR3 in leukocyte migration and the microarchitecture of mouse spleen

Egle Radici, Graduation May 25th, 2018 (Group Marcus Thelen, IRB Bellinzona)
Functional expression of the scavenger ACKR3 on B Lymphocytes of Secondary Lymphoid Organs

Lorenzo Spagnuolo, Graduation January 2017 (Group Bourquin, UNIGE)
Chemokone syergy in lymphocyte migration: the role of the HMGB1-CXCL12 complex

Viola Puddinu, Graduation December 13th, 2016 (Group Marcus Thelen, IRB Bellinzona)
Role of the Atypical Chemokine Receptor 3 in Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma