CV Alexander Weber

 

Alexander Weber completed his undergraduate degree in biochemistry at the University of Tübingen and subsequently moved to the University of Cambridge for a master's degree in biochemistry. He also completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge. During his PhD in the laboratory of Prof. Nicolas J. Gay, he worked on structure-function relationships of human and Drosophila Toll-like receptors. After a year as a PostDoc in the group of Prof. Nicolas J. Gay, Alexander Weber moved to the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, where he worked as a PostDoc in the Department of Virotherapy. Between 2007 and 2011, he worked as a junior research group leader at DKFZ, focusing his research on Toll-like receptor signaling pathways. In 2011, Alexander Weber finally returned to Tübingen and has since been leading a research group at the Interfaculty Institute of Cell Biology focusing on the signaling pathways of PRRs.

Selected Publications:

  1. Herster F, Bittner Z, Archer NK, Dickhöfer S, Eisel D, Eigenbrod T, Knorpp T, Schneiderhan-Marra N, Löffler MW, Kalbacher H, Vierbuchen T, Heine H, Miller LS, Hartl D, Freund L, Schäkel K, Heister M, Ghoreschi K, Weber ANR (2020) Neutrophil extracellular trap-associated RNA and LL37 enable self-amplifying inflammation in psoriasis. Nat Commun 11:105.
  2. Fuchs K*, Cardona Gloria Y*, Wolz OO, Herster F, Sharma L, Dillen C, Täumer C, Dickhöfer D, Bittner Z, Dang TM, Singh A, Haischer D, Schlöffel MA, Koymans KJ, Sanmuganantham T, Krach M, Schilling NA, Frauhammer F, Miller L, Nürnberger N, LeibundGut-Landmann S, Gust AA, Macek B, Frank M, Gouttefangeas C, Dela Cruz CS, Hartl DH, Weber AN (2018) The fungal ligand chitin directly binds and signals inflammation dependent on oligomer size and TLR2. EMBO Rep 19:e46065.
  3. Liu X, Pichulik T, Wolz OO, Dang TM, Stutz A, Dillen C, Delmiro Garcia M, Kraus H, Dickhöfer S, Daiber E, Münzenmayer L, Wahl S, Rieber N, Kümmerle-Deschner J, Yazdi A, Franz-Wachtel M, Macek B, Radsak M, Vogel S, Schulte B, Walz JS, Hartl D, Latz E, Stilgenbauer S, Grimbacher B, Miller L, Brunner C, Wolz C, Weber AN (2017) Human NLRP3 inflammasome activity is regulated by and therapeutically targetable via BTK. J Allergy Clin Immunol 140:1054-1067.e10.
  4. Wang H, El Maadidi S, Fischer J, Grabski E, Dickhöfer S, Klimosch S, Flannery SM, Filomena A, Wolz OO, Schneiderhan-Marra N, Löffler MW, Wiese M, Pichulik T, Müllhaupt B, Semela D, Dufour J-F, the East-German and Swiss Hepatitis C Virus Study Groups, Bochud P-Y, Bowie AG, Kalinke U, Berg T, Weber AN (2015) A frequent hypofunctional IRAK2 variant is associated with reduced spontaneous hepatitis C virus clearance. Hepatology 62:1375-1387.
  5. Rieber N, Singh A, Öz H, Carevic M, Bouzani M, Amich J, Ost M, Ye Z, Ballbach M, Schäfer I, Mezger M, Klimosch SN, Weber AN, Handgretinger R, Krappmann S, Liese J, Engeholm M, Schüle R, Salih HR, Marodi L, Speckmann C, Grimbacher B, Ruland J, Brown GD, Beilhack A, Loeffler J, Hartl D (2015) Pathogenic fungi regulate T-cell immunity by inducing neutrophilic myeloid-derived suppressor cells through a Dectin-1/CARD9 and ROS-mediated mechanism. Cell Host Microbe 17:507-514.
  6. Avbelj M, Wolz OO, Fekonja O, Benčina M, Repič M, Mavri J, Krüger J, Schärfe C, Delmiro-Garcia M, Panter G, Kohlbacher O, Weber AN*, Jerala R* (2014) Activation of lymphoma-associated MyD88 mutations via allostery-induced TIR domain oligomerization. Blood 124:3896-3904.
  7. Klimosch SN, Försti A, Eckert J, Knežević J, Bevier M, von Schönfels W, Heits N, Walter J, Hinz S, Lascorz J, Hampe J, Hartl D, Frick JS, Hemminki K, Schafmayer C, Weber AN (2013) Functional TLR5 genetic variants affect human colorectal cancer survival. Cancer Res 73:7232-7242.
  8. Eckert KJ, Kim YJ, Kim JI, Gürtler K, Oh D-Y, Sur S, Lundvall L, Hamann L, van der Ploeg A, Pickkers P, Giamarellos-Bourboulis E, Kubarenko AV, Weber AN, Kabesch M, Kumpf O, An H-J, Lee J-O and Schumann RR (2013) The Crystal Structure of Lipopolysaccharide Binding Protein Reveals the Location of a Frequent Mutation that Impairs Innate Immunity. Immunity 39:647-660.
  9. Gay NJ, Gangloff M, Weber AN (2006) Toll-like receptors as molecular switches. Nat Rev Immunol 6:693-698.
  10. Weber AN, Tauszig-Delamasure S, Hoffmann JA, Lelievre E, Gascan H, Ray KP, Morse MA, Imler JL, Gay NJ (2003) Binding of the Drosophila cytokine Spätzle to Toll is direct and establishes signaling. Nat Immunol 4:794-800.