Insights into NK cell cytotoxicity – how to select the best (serial) killer for cancer therapy?

Dr. Carsten Watzl is the Scientific Director of the Department of Immunology at the Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors (IfADo) at TU Dortmund, a position he has held since 2011. He is also a Board Member of the European Federation of Immunological Societies (EFIS). He has received several scientific awards, is member of the German Society for Immunology and previously led its Study Group on Natural Killer Cells (2008–2015). He studied Biology in Heidelberg and completed his PhD at the German Cancer Research Centre, focusing on CD95 (APO-1/Fas) receptor signal transduction. His groundbreaking research on CD95-mediated apoptosis has been cited over 2,400 times. As a postdoctoral researcher at the NIH (NIAID), he studied the regulation of Natural Killer (NK) cells, a topic he continued to explore as the head of a junior research group at the University of Heidelberg.

His current research focuses on the molecular mechanisms of NK cell cytotoxicity, the serial killing activity of NK cells, and the impact of aging on the immune system.