Sebastian Hofer

Group photo Text: Immunology & Inflammation Symposium Berlin Mar 17, 2026

Registration now open for the I&I Berlin Symposium 2026!
Are you part of Berlin’s immunology community or planning to become one?

On March 17, 2026, the symposium bringing together researchers, clinicians, & early-career scientists working on immunology and inflammation.

You probably know that Berlin has many outstanding research groups working in #immunology. We’re bringing this community together for a one-day symposium on March 17th. Please register if you’re curious about Berlin science! 🧬🧯🔥 #immunosky #medsky

www.mdc-berlin.de/news/events/...

Poster for "Afternoon for Immunology" on 4 September 2025 at MDC-Campus Buch, featuring talks, coffee break, and networking.

📢 Interested in #immunology research? Join our “Afternoon for Immunology”! Scientists at all career stages will present their research.

📍 September 4, 15:00-18:00
Robert-Rössle-Str 10
Dendrit 2/3
13125 Berlin

🔗 www.mdc-berlin.de/Afternoonfor...

Boosting vaccine efficacy as we age Can an aging immune system be coaxed into responding to vaccination like its’ younger self? In “Nature Aging,” Sebastian Hofer, Katja Simon and colleagues discuss emerging interventions that may boost...

For a short news piece about our review and our contributions to this interesting field:
👉 mdc-berlin.de/news/news/bo...

Teaser: We’ve just started recruiting for our trial to explore whether dietary interventions can help improve age-related vaccine inefficacy! More soon. (5/5)

This was a real team effort with Simon Rapp, Paul Klenerman and Katja Simon from the @mdc-berlin.bsky.social and @ox.ac.uk

The piece appears in a stellar special issue on immune aging, which brings together an excellent lineup of authors and reviews worth exploring: nature.com/articles/s43...
(4/5)

While putting this together, we were struck by how little is still known in this area! In the review, we thus explore how targeting the biology of aging itself might provide more fundamental solutions to age-related declines in vaccine efficacy than technical fixes alone. (3/5)

We outline how age-related changes in the immune system shape vaccine responses, and discuss both traditional and emerging strategies to improve protection in older adults. A key focus is the intersection of geroscience and vaccinology.

(2/5)

🥁 Extremely happy to share that my first review as corresponding author for a major outlet is now out in
@nataging.nature.com: “Understanding and improving vaccine efficacy in older adults”.
👉 nature.com/articles/s43...

(1/5)

Healthcare worker administering a vaccine to an older man in a clinical setting.

Can fasting boost vaccine protection as we age?

A trial at #mdcBerlin is testing intermittent fasting before flu & COVID shots to strengthen immunity in adults 60+.
Aging weakens the immune system, but fasting may restore autophagy and improve vaccine responses.

🔗 www.mdc-berlin.de/news/news/bo...

New antibiotic that kills drug-resistant bacteria discovered in technician’s garden The molecule targets bacteria in a way that other drugs don’t.

Good news: New antibiotic that kills drug-resistant bacteria discovered in technician’s garden www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Submissions are still open for presenting at the upcoming Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) on Polyamines in July. PhD students and postdocs can submit their abstracts until mid-April. Join this incredible biannual event with the fantastic polyamine research community! 💫

www.grc.org/polyamines-g...

This is how you write editorials: you own what you say, and you put your name, even if it's "by the entire team". Someone needs to take responsibility.

Kudos to Nonia and the journal.

#SignYourEditorials

How ‘animal methods bias’ is affecting research careers Some early-career researchers report feeling pressure to use animal models to meet journal and grant requirements, even in disciplines and projects that don’t require them.

Important feature on animal models and alternatives in @nature.com

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Please share and spread the word to help us find great candidates! 🌍

#PhD #ScienceJobs #Immunology #Autophagy #AgingResearch #Berlin

We seek candidates who are passionate about immunology and aging research, and who thrive in an innovative and dynamic environment at the @mdc-berlin.bsky.social

📌 Location: MDC, Berlin, Germany
📅 Start Date: September 2025
👉 Apply now: www.mdc-berlin.de/career/jobs/...

#Hiring: 2 PhD Opportunities in Berlin!

Join the Simon group at MDC Berlin (lnkd.in/dVJsA6RU)! We’re looking for 2 candidates to work on exciting projects exploring autophagy & aging in the immune system. These fully funded 3-year positions start Sept 25 and will be part of the MSCA UNION network.

Autophagy repression by antigen and cytokines shapes mitochondrial, migration and effector machinery in CD8 T cells - Nature Immunology Sinclair et al. combine quantitative proteomics and an autophagy flux reporter to map autophagy substrates and triggers during CD8 T cell differentiation. Proteins degraded and fueled by autophagy in ...

I am overjoyed to present our latest paper on Autophagy in CD8 Tcells!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
It was, as all ‘sciencing’ is, a huge team effort.

I will try to do it some justice in the following thread 😊 1/n
@cantrell-lab.bsky.social @immpres.bsky.social @ajmhowden.bsky.social

Super cool story about macrophages distinguishing dead and live bacteria based on metabolic cues and how they are utilised differently to shape immunomeabolism

Phase separation of p62: roles and regulations in autophagy The phase separation of the cargo receptor sequestome-1/p62 (SQSTM1/p62) is a critical mechanism for assembling signaling complexes in autophagy. During this process, p62 undergoes phase separation upon binding to polyubiquitin chains, concentrating…

Phase separation of p62: roles and regulations in autophagy

IL-27 elicits a cytotoxic CD8+ T cell program to enforce tumour control - Nature IL-27 promotes tumour control by preventing dysfunction and enhancing cytotoxicity of tumour-specific CD8+ T cells.

Nature research paper: IL-27 elicits a cytotoxic CD8+ T cell program to enforce tumour control

https://go.nature.com/4guUvnp

Exciting news! 🌱 With march I will join the BOKU University in Vienna as a tenure-track assistant!
My group will investigate how plants integrate complex environmental stresses to induce #autophagy.
www.thegrosslab.com

@bokuvienna.bsky.social
#plantscience #biochemistry #cellbiology #academicsky

We’re Hiring: 18 PhD Positions Available!
👉MENTOR is a cutting-edge multi-disciplinary training network focused on mTOR signaling
👉We aim to recruit talented doctoral candidates to contribute to groundbreaking research on mTORopathies and their therapeutic potential.
#PhDPositions #mTORResearch