Website: https://www.koniglab.org

Research:

Keywords: Autoimmunity; Immunoengineering; Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs); Chimeric autoantigen T cell receptors (CATCRs); Cell therapy; Bispecific antibodies

Research Activities

Our laboratory focuses on the development of precision cellular and protein-based immunotherapies for autoimmune and rheumatic diseases, with the aim of selectively eliminating autoreactive immune cells while preserving normal immune responses.

Summary of Research Program

My laboratory is focused on developing precision therapies for patients with autoimmune and rheumatic diseases. Conventional treatments are broadly immunosuppressive. While effective in reducing self-reactive immune responses, currently available drugs also impair protective immunity, leading to opportunistic infection, poor vaccine responses, and treatment-related mortality. Therefore, our goal is to develop antigen-specific and personalized immunotherapies that precisely target and eliminate self-reactive immune cells that drive organ damage in autoimmune diseases while preserving normal immune function. To realize this goal, we use immunoengineering approaches to develop bespoke cellular and protein-based immunotherapies for specific autoimmune diseases. These therapies hold promise to effectively treat and prevent autoimmune diseases while eliminating the risk of infections. Our research also extends to advancing T cell therapies for hard-to-treat cancers like glioblastoma by employing CRISPR-based cellular and bispecific antibody engineering platforms.

Publications and Interests: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/maximilian.konig.2/bibliography/public/