VIETAC (Vienna Transplant and Complement Lab)
In the VIETAC lab post docs and PhD students with both life science and medical background including transplant medicine and surgery closely collaborate to enable translation from bench to bedside. Our primary goal is to understand the role of antibodies and their effector mechanisms—including complement activation and natural killer cell activation—in solid organ transplantation. In our ongoing translational research projects, we focus on various pathophysiological, diagnostic, and therapeutic aspects of antibody-mediated transplant rejection. We continue to investigate the predictive accuracy of innovative antibody detection techniques, including assays for in vitro detection of complement activation and distinct biomarkers that reflect transplant injury and inflammation. Diagnostic efforts also include the analysis of gene expression patterns in allografts. Our research program further encompasses the development of novel desensitization and treatment protocols for both HLA- and ABO-antibody-incompatible kidney transplantation. A major focus of our current work is the mechanistic understanding and therapeutic targeting of CD38 in transplant rejection.