Ufuk Karakus

Autoimmune disease originates from self-reactive immune cells, which attack healthy tissue and cause inflammation. Conventional immunosuppressive drugs have limited efficacy and due to their broad action on the immune system give rise to severe, partially life-threatening, side effects. In his research at the University of Zurich, Ufuk Karakus is developing an advanced interleukin-2 (IL-2)-based immunotherapy designed to restore the immune balance of autoimmune patients through selective activation of regulatory T cells. This treatment strategy could provide an effective and possibly long-lasting solution for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.

The UZH Entrepreneur Fellowship allows the researchers to work on the optimization of the new drug compound and provide proof of concept studies in animal models.

Affiliation: Prof. Onur Boyman

Start date: 01/2019