Nikolaus Ballenberger holds a PhD degree in human biology (focus epidemiology) from LMU Munich and a MSc in Epidemiology, Maastricht University, NL and studied Physiotherapy science at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. He was a member of the Asthma & Allergy research group from November 2009 to July 2014.  The main project of his PhD included the investigation of Th17 helper cells and cytokines (Il-17) in the development of atopic diseases. His  projects in the group of PD Dr. Schaub comprised the analysis of complex immune responses in the development of childhood asthma for several research projects of the group including SFB-TR22 and Trilateral.

Vera Casaca has a MSc in Molecular Medicine, Cranfield University, UK and studied Clinical Analysis and Public Health at the University of Algarve, Portugal. She joined the Allergy-Immunology research group from July 2009 until 2014 with a scholarship of Bayerische Forschungsstiftung. The main project of her PhD included the investigation of Th1 polymorphisms in the development of atopic diseases and interaction with regulatory T cells during farm exposure. She also worked on EFRAIM on the investigation of Tregulatory cell responses in the protective farm environment for childhood asthma.

Severine Haug studied medicine at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich from 2001 to 2008. She became a member of the immunology-allergy laboratory in 2004, and completed her PhD in December 2012.  The project of her medical thesis examined the role of regulatory T cells in the context of innate immune stimulation in cord blood in the development of allergic diseases.

Carmen Hinnerwisch studied medicine at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich from 2004 to 2009. She joined the immunology research group in April 2007 for her MD thesis. Her project focussed on the role of Th17 cells in cord blood regarding atopic diseases and asthma. She completed her thesis in October 2012.

Sabine Höppler studied medicine at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich from 2001 to 2008. She joined the immunology-allergy research group in the fall of 2004 for her MD thesis. Her project investigated the modulation of allergic diseases through microbial stimulation in neonatal cord blood. She completed her PhD in July 2010.

Katja Landgraf-Rauf studied Biotechnology (Bachelor degree) and Biology of Cells (Master degree). She finished her PhD studies at the Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria associated with the research on Interaction of immune cells with other cell types in the aging bone marrow at the Institute of Biomedical Aging Research. After working at the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology she joined the Allergy & Immunology group as a postdoctoral fellow in July 2015. Until 2017 she was involved in the research on the origin and development of different childhood asthma phenotypes and their underlying immunological and molecular mechanisms. She was part of the German Center for Lung Research (Deutsches Zentrum für Lungenforschung, DZL) and the affiliated asthma cohort KIRA (Kinder Register Asthma).

Jing Liu studied medicine in China and worked at the Department of Respiratory Medicine of The Second Affiliated Hospital of Ji Lin University. She spent two research periods in the laboratory of PD Dr. Schaub. The first period was funded by a DAAD fellowship, from July 2005 to July 2007 with a project on the investigation of early molecular/immunological influences in the development of allergic diseases. The second period was a follow-up of this project, funded by a scholarship of Bayerische Forschungsstiftung from May 2008 for 9 months.

Anna Lluis studied Biology at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain. She joined the allergy-immunology laboratory in Nov 2007 on a Galtrain stipend as a Marie-Curie fellow. Her PhD thesis investigated the regulation of Th17 cells in interaction with T cells and dendritic cells and their effect in the development of early atopic diseases in childhood. She now moved to Denver, USA for a Post-Doctoral Fellowship with Prof. Gelfand`s group.

Diana Rädler studied Biology at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich. She joined the Allergy-Immunology laboratory from August 2009 until February 2015. Her PhD thesis investigated the mechanism of immune regulation for pediatric asthma in a SFB-funded research grant. She received the GlaxoSmith Kline Research Award 2013 for her work on “Identification of novel biomarkers in childhood asthma”, and a stipend from LMU Munich (FöFoLe) for a research project on investigation of regulatory T cells in childhood asthma. She achieved her PhD in February 2014. Afterwards she worked in the group as Post-Doctoral Fellow.

Dr. Schmidt joined the Allergy/Immunology Research Group in Nov 2015, is an experienced pediatrician, neonatologist Attending and now in Speciality training for Allergy. She is responsible for patient recruitment for translational studies for the Allergy/Immunology Research Group.

Paul C. Schröder studied Biology and Biochemistry at the Universidad de Navarra in Pamplona, Spain. He holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from the Universidad de Navarra where he worked at the Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA) studying the implications of S-Adenosylmethionine in hepatocellular carcinoma using a transcriptomic and proteomic approach. He joined the Allergy-Immunology research group as a Post-Doc from April 2012 until 2015, funded by a trilateral DFG grant. Natural exposure to two different rural environments (farm environment in Europe, rural environment in China) is associated with a very low prevalence of childhood asthma. Phenotypic information about and biological samples from farming European and rural Chinese populations offer a unique opportunity to identify immune-regulatory mechanisms that protect against childhood asthma. Also, it offers an unique opportunity to understand whether similar or different immunological pathways mediate protection in distinct rural environments. In this regard we aim to investigate the interplay between innate and adaptive immune regulation focusing on dendritic and T regulatory cells.

Simone Wolff started studying medicine in 2011 at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich. She joined the allergy-immunology research group in January 2014 as a student assistant for clinical data entry of the CLARA-study. Since May 2014 she is performing her thesis in the research group investigating the clinical course of asthma in childhood depending on specific immune phenotypes