{"id":3753,"date":"2025-11-18T10:28:34","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T09:28:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.infectnet.org\/?p=3753"},"modified":"2025-12-16T16:07:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T15:07:23","slug":"von-barcelona-nach-erlangen-start-des-labors-fuer-vaskulaere-infektionen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infectnet.org\/en\/archive\/3753","title":{"rendered":"From Barcelona to Erlangen: Launching the Vascular Infection Lab"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bioengineering microvasculature on-a-chip models to unravel malaria pathogenesis<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Viola Introini<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hello Infect-Net community!<\/strong>
I am Viola Introini <\/strong>and I have just traded sunny Barcelona for fresh Bavarian air as I step in to lead my new research group at <\/strong>the Max-Planck-Zentrum f\u00fcr Physik und Medizin in Erlangen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am thrilled to join this network of brilliant infectious-disease scientists!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Plasmodium<\/em> <\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Bioengineering<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Vascular Biology<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Biophysics<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Mechanobiology<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Viola Introini started her new Independent Research Group in July 2025 at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light and the Max Planck Center for Physics and Medicine in Erlangen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who are you and what is your research focus?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI am a Physicists who fell in love with malaria parasites the moment I saw for the first time their bursting egress during a Summer School in the Lab of Prof Pietro Cicuta, at the Cavendish Laboratory. I immediately decided to pursue a PhD in his group, applying biophysical methods to dissect merozoite-red blood cell interactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I used optical tweezers\u2014micrometer-sized traps made of light\u2014and real-time microscopy to study one of the fastest events in malaria: how released merozoites attach to, reorient, and finally invade human red blood cells. This interaction lasts only a few minutes within the 48-hour life cycle of Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest malaria parasite, and is governed by the mechanics of the cell membrane and the adhesive forces between host and parasite. This work gave me a deep appreciation for the physical side of biology, and a broad toolkit of optical and biophysical techniques for studying host\u2013pathogen interactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Live egress and invasion of Plasmodium falciparum merozoites invading nearby red blood cells.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I became fascinated not only by the parasite, but by its environment\u2014how the physical and mechanical properties of human tissues influence infection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This curiosity led me to the European Molecular Biology Laboratory EMBL in Barcelona, where as a Marie Sk\u0142odowska-Curie Fellow in Maria Bernabeu\u2019s lab, I developed bioengineered brain microvessels\u2014in vitro models that mimic the human blood\u2013brain barrier in which we can perfuse circulating cells under controlled flow conditions. I used this extremely versatile platform to 1) identify and screen Malaria-patient derived monoclonal antibodies to prevent infected red blood cells from adhering to blood vessel walls, a key driver of severe malaria symptoms. 2) explore a universal but\u00a0often overlooked symptom of infection:\u00a0fever. We found that febrile temperatures actually make infected cells adhere more strongly to the brain vasculature by disrupting the endothelial glycocalyx. The finding suggests a physical mechanism behind disease severity but also raised new questions for traditional clinical treatment strategies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Crossing of 3D perfusable microvessels formed by primary human brain endothelial cells. Junctional VE-Cadherin (magenta) highlights endothelial tight barrier within the collagen hydrogel (black).<\/mark><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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In my new lab, I will continue developing 3D bioengineered, tissue-specific microvasculature models to better understand malaria pathogenesis and to explore other vascular infections using a reliable and biomimetic platform.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Why Erlangen?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cMy research sits at the intersection of Physics, Bioengineering, and Medicine, and the newly built Max-Planck-Zentrum f\u00fcr Physik und Medizin is the perfect Institute for developing my ideas. MPZPM is a joint research center of the Max-Planck-Institute for the Science of Light (MPL), the Friedrich-Alexander-Universit\u00e4t Erlangen-N\u00fcrnberg (FAU), and the clinical site Universit\u00e4tsklinikum Erlangen. My group will benefit from cutting-edge microscopy, tissue culture, and lab-on-a-chip facilities \u2014an extraordinary and unique combination to have within the same Institute.\n\nThe highly interdisciplinary ecosystem, together with the proximity to the clinic and patients, creates a unique environment where fundamental discoveries can be rapidly translated into medical impact. It is the ideal hub for driving innovative infection research into new frontiers.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Lab essential you can\u2019t live without?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cOur optical tweezers\u2026 and a steady flow of chai latte supply to fuel the experiments!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What do you bring to Infect-Net?<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cA biophysics and bioengineering twist on infection diseases coupled with a passion for cross-disciplinary collaborations.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What local event are you most excited to try in Erlangen?<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI have heard about the Erlangen Poetfest each summer\u2014it sounds fascinating. Time to brush up on my German!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Fun fact: I am passionate about building devices beyond the lab\u2014I crafted my own violin from scratch!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you believe that it can be actually played?<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Myself (right) with the first member of my lab Larissa Bauer (left).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

I am delighted to be part of Infect-Net<\/strong> !
If you would like to find out more about my research or discuss potential collaborations, please visit my group website: https:\/\/mpzpm.mpg.de\/research\/viola-introini<\/a>
or contact me directly at viola.introini@mpzpm.mpg.de<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bioengineering von Mikrogef\u00e4\u00dfmodellen-on-a-chip zur Entschl\u00fcsselung der Malariapathogenese Dr. Viola Introini Viola Introini gr\u00fcndete im Juli 2025 ihre neue unabh\u00e4ngige Forschungsgruppe am Max-Planck-Institut f\u00fcr die Physik des Lichts und am Max-Planck-Zentrum […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3740,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[106,12,45],"tags":[141,17,373,338,537,325],"class_list":["post-3753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interview","category-kooperation","category-vernetzung","tag-erlangen","tag-malaria","tag-max-planck","tag-networking","tag-physics-medicine","tag-plasmodium-falciparum"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/infectnet.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/infectnet.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/infectnet.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infectnet.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infectnet.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3753"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/infectnet.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3753\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4126,"href":"https:\/\/infectnet.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3753\/revisions\/4126"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infectnet.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/infectnet.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infectnet.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/infectnet.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}