Marcus Dorner

Biography

I am a Non-Clinical Lecturer in Immunology and joined the Section of Virology and the Section of Hepatology and Gastroenterology in 2013. I received my BSc and MSc in Chemistry from the Technical University in Munich, Germany and my PhD in Molecular Biology at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, working on entry and immune evasion strategies of the Epstein-Barr virus. I subsequently joined the group of Dr. Charles M. Rice at the Rockefeller University, New York, USA as a Postdoctoral Fellow. During this time I was mainly involved in the development of novel in vitro and in vivo model systems to study human-tropic infectious diseases including hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) as well as HIV. My primary research interest lies in virus/host interactions, especially the basic principles balancing the host antiviral immune response and the immune evasion strategies employed by viruses to circumvent immune recognition. The pathogens currently under study include HBV, HCV and HIV. Building on our previous success in creating the first immunocompetent mouse model for the study of HCV (Dorner et al. 2011 Nature, Dorner et al. 2013 Nature) we now aim to translate this strategy to other human-tropic pathogens. This includes the development of advanced in vivo model systems based either on genetic humanization or xenotransplantation of human cells. In addition we work on creating novel in vitro culture systems using human primary hepatocytes.

Research Interest

Molecular Virology