Research Focus

Immunology & Infectious Diseases

Area of Research

• Novel and child-friendly diagnostics for childhood tuberculosis
• Cytokines and other biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of infections
• Epidemiology and outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infections in neonates, children and adolescents in Switzerland
• Health care delivered to migrant and asylumseeking children

Evaluation and validation of novel immunodiagnostic tests for childhood tuberculosis infection and disease in Switzerland the CITRUS (ChIldhood TubeRcUlosis in Switzerland) study (multicenter with lead ethics EKNZ) principle investigator: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03044509

SARS-CoV-2 infection in children in Switzerland – Swiss Paediatric Surveillance Unit (SPSU) study (EKNZ 2020-01133), principle investigator

Aerococcus urinae in the pediatric urinary tract: a case series (EKNZ 2021-00321), principle investigator

National Collaborations

• The CITRUS study is a multicenter Swiss study collaborating with SwissPedNet study hubs in Aarau, Basel, Bellinzona, Bern, Geneva, Lausanne, Lucerne, St.Gallen, Zurich
• The Swiss Pediatric Surveillance Study (SPSU) which is collecting data from all 29 Swiss pediatric hospitals.
• Dr. med. Petra Zimmermann, University of Fribourg, Switzerland.
• Prof. Dr. med. Adrian Egli, Head of Microbiology and Research Group Leader Department of Biomedicine, University Basel
• Prof. Julia Vogt, Department of Computer Science, Medical Data Analysis, ETH Zürich, Switzerland

International Collaborations

• Pediatric Infectious Diseases Hospital Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain (A/Prof Begoña Santigao)
• Paediatric Infectious Diseases & Immunology, Department, Evelina London Children’s Hospital, London, United Kingdom (A/Prof Marc Tebruegge)
• Department of general medicine and paediatric infectious diseases, Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, Australia (Prof. Nigel Curtis).
• Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United States (A/Prof Matthew M. Ippolito)
• MRC Clinical Trials Unit at University College of London, Institute of Clinical Trials & Methodology; London United Kingdom (Dr. Anna Turkova, Dr. Jeannie Collins)

• Prospective multicentre Swiss Study evaluating novel immunodiagnostic tests for childhood tuberculosis  (CITRUS study) https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03044509
• A Horizon 2020 funded project: Russian European Alliance for research among women, Children and adolescents impacted by HIV, TB and HCV (REACH) https://alliance-reach.eu/
• Evaluation of novel immunodiagnostic tests for tuberculosis infection and disease in an adult HIV cohort in Switzerland (NOVDA study). 
• A prospective national study on clinical aspects, diagnosis and treatment of childhood tuberculosis with the Swiss Paediatric Surveillance Unit (SPSU). https://www.spsu.ch/en/home