
Professor Christoph Wuelfing
Dip(Munich), PhD(Munich)
Expertise
We investigate the signal transduction network and function of T lymphocytes using large-scale imaging, addressing questions in basic T cell function and its suppression in the anti-tumor immune response.
Current positions
Professor of Immunology
School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Contact
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Biography
After undergraduate studies in Chemistry at the Ludwig Maximilian Univeristy of Munich I have completed Ph.D. studies in protein engineering at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry. I have moved into molecular immunology with my postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of Mark Davis at Stanford University.
Setting up my own research group at the UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, we have increased the scope of imaging approaches to study T cell signal transduction to dozens of signalling intermediates. At UT Southwestern and after coming to Bristol, we have moved from research questions in basic T and NK cell function to models of autoimmune disease and the anti-tumour T cell response.
Research interests
Group: The Wülfing laboratory
The research focus of the Wuelfing laboratory is to understand how T cell activation is controlled in health and the immune response in cancer. To gain unique access to the system-wide, complex processes driving T cell activation, we directly determine signalling as it occurs in time and space inside primary T cells activated by antigen presenting cells with large-scale live cell imaging approaches.
The key physiological problem we are addressing is the suppression of cytotoxic T cell function in the tumour microenvironment. Cytotoxic T cells are commonly found in tumours. They have the ability to kill tumour target cells. Yet, this ability is commonly suppressed in the tumour microenvironment by multiple, often redundant mechanisms. We have established in vivo validated, three-dimensional tissue culture apporaches to gain experimental access to murine and human cytotoxic T cell suppression in vitro. Using these approaches, we investigate mechanisms of action of T cell inhibitory receptors, such as PD-1 and TIM-3, of soluble mediators such as adenosine and of suppressive cell types such as cancer-associated fibroblasts. In collaboration with industrial partners we investigate mechanisms of action of T cell-focussed therapeutics.
The research is described in more detail on our laboratory website http://www.bristol.ac.uk/cellmolmed/research/infect-immune/wuelfing/
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
Equiment Award - Super Resolution Imaging
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Cellular and Molecular MedicineDates
01/10/2020 to 30/09/2021
Causal modeling of T cell signaling in time and space - Proposal no. 7632552
Principal Investigator
Managing organisational unit
School of Cellular and Molecular MedicineDates
01/10/2018 to 30/09/2019
Enabling advanced analytics for all users of the proteomics facility
Principal Investigator
Role
Co-Investigator
Managing organisational unit
Bristol Veterinary SchoolDates
01/01/2018 to 08/06/2021
Thesis supervisions
The spatiotemporal organisation as a means of control of regulatory T cell functions in autoimmunity
Supervisors
Targeting Adenosine and TIM3 to Improve Anti-Tumour Immunity
Supervisors
The effect of hypoxia on the tumour microenvironment
Supervisors
Regulating cytotoxic T lymphocyte Activity through endogenous and synthetic costimulation
Supervisors
Investigating tumour-mediated immunosuppression of CD8+ T cells
Supervisors
TIM3 is a context-dependent coregulator of cytotoxic T cell function
Supervisors
Molecular regulation of neutrophil responses
Supervisors
Characterisation of the cellular compartments containing inhibitory receptors in CD8+ T cells
Supervisors
Investigating the natural killer cell response in dengue virus infection
Supervisors
Elucidating mechanisms of tumour resistance to checkpoint blockade
Supervisors
Publications
Recent publications
01/01/2023Cellular Structures Controlling T Cell Signaling in Time and Space
Encyclopedia of Cell Biology, Second Edition
Five Inhibitory Receptors Display Distinct Vesicular Distributions in Murine T Cells
Cells
For optimal antibody effectiveness, sometimes less is more
Nature
Localization in vesicles, clusters and supramolecular complexes as key elements of LAT function
Exploration of Immunology
Adenosine 2A receptor and TIM3 suppress cytolytic killing of tumor cells via cytoskeletal polarization
Communications Biology
Teaching
I teach across the range of basic to advanced immunology from 1st year to M.Sc. units.