Oskar Staufer and his team develop novel biomaterials to better understand and specifically control immune processes. His interdisciplinary research combines biophysics with biomaterials science and immunology. Since 2022, Oskar Staufer has been leading an Emmy Noether Research Group on “Immuno-Materials” at INM – Leibniz Institute for New Materials. On April 27, he has been jointly appointed Professor of Experimental Biophysics by Saarland University and INM.
One key example of the innovative biomaterials that Oskar Staufer and his team are researching is artificial lymph nodes. These make it possible to study how immune cells are activated even outside the human body. In the future, they could also help produce more effective immune cells for cancer therapies. Oskar Staufer aims to link his materials science research even more closely with clinical applications, with a particular focus on exploring new physical effects underlying immunological processes.
As the new Professor of Experimental Biophysics, he plans to contribute his expertise in developing biomimetic materials – materials inspired by natural models – as well as his knowledge of immune cell activation to larger interdisciplinary research collaborations. These include Saarland University’s BioMed focus area – Life and Matter, as well as future Collaborative Research Centers and possible Excellence Initiatives.
Short Biography of Oskar Staufer
Oskar Staufer studied Molecular Biotechnology at Heidelberg University. For his doctoral research, for which he was awarded the Otto Hahn Medal of the Max Planck Society, he moved to the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, where he also joined the newly established Max Planck School “Matter to Life.” Supported by a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship from the European Commission, he was able to further deepen his research on the interaction between artificial systems and immune cells at the University of Oxford.
Since November 2022, Oskar Staufer has been leading the “Immuno-Materials” research group at INM – Leibniz Institute for New Materials. The group is funded with €2.4 million through the Emmy Noether Programme of the German Research Foundation (DFG). The Pharmaceutical Research Alliance Saarland, which connects INM with the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) and Saarland University, supported the recruitment of Oskar Staufer in order to strengthen the BioMed focus area.