Research Group „Evolutionary Immunology”
Dr. Thomas BoehmOur work aims at understanding the general principles of adaptive immunity. In our analyses ,we consider as much as is possible, the immune systems of species situated at key positions on the vertebrate phylogenetic tree. We hope to be able to reconstruct how the evolutionary transitions over the course of 500 million years have led to the complex array of immune facilities that we have come to recognize in mammals. In particular, we are interested in studying the evolution of thymopoietic microenvironments, which provide the instructive cues for initiating T cell lineage commitment, supply trophic factors to differentiating and mature cell types, and orchestrate the formation of cell populations expressing diverse and self-tolerant antigen receptor repertoires. These studies will allow us to build minimal essential forms of thymopoietic tissue and to develop its therapeutic use in immunodeficiency states.
CV
| since 2025 | Emeritus Director, Max Planck Institute for Biology, Tübingen |
| since 2023 | Senior Scientist, Institute for Immunodeficiency, Medical Center - University of Freiburg |
| 1998-2024 | Scientific Member of the Max Planck Society and Director at the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology & Epigenetics, Freiburg |
| since 1998 | Honorary Professor, Medical Faculty, University of Freiburg |
| 1995-1997 | Professor of Experimental Therapy, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg |
| 1992-1994 | Professor of Molecular Medicine, University of Freiburg |
| 1987-1991 | Scientist, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambride, UK |
| 1987 | Habilitation in Biological Chemistry, University of Frankfurt |
| 1982-1986 | Research Fellow, Centers for Pediatrics and Biological Chemistry, University of Frankfurt |
| 1975-1982 | Study of Medicine in Frankfurt am Main |
Research Areas
- Evolution and function of thymopoietic environments
- Characterization of the lamprey immune system
- Comparative analyses of antigen receptor repertoires in vertebrates
- Immunogenetics of sexual parasitism in anglerfishes