Ottmar Herchenröder

About me

As a virologist by training, I am interested in combatting transmissible diseases as well as conditions such as cancer and cardiac failure. Early on, I concentrated on the pathogenesis after infections with HIV or other retroviruses. To understand disease development, it is vital to uncover the interplay between physiologically relevant organs, tissues and cells with factors that provoke illness. Be it an intruding pathogen such as a virus or an aberrant mutation in a cell causing malfunction or eventually leading to cancer, uncovering the molecular mechanisms underlying adverse medical conditions is the first step towards cure. Therefore, I develop experimental procedures for instance virus-derived vectors as tools for basic research and possibly, future application in patients. My lectures and courses in Virology, Molecular Medicine and Didactics for Vocational Preparationfocus on in-depth provision of knowledge and skills to make students fit for a career in biology, biotechnology or medicine. For me, IEGT with its interdisciplinary and multilingual staff is the right place to successfully achieve my research and educational goals.