Ondrej Stepanek is an expert in the field of T cell receptor (TCR) signaling and adaptive immunity. He has more than 15 years of experience in research on T cell biology, spanning molecular mechanisms of receptor signaling, thymic development, and effector and regulatory T cell responses. Following his doctoral training at Charles University and the Institute of Molecular Genetics (IMG) in Prague, he pursued postdoctoral research at the University Hospital Basel, where he made fundamental contributions to our understanding of TCR tolerance mechanisms.
Since establishing the Laboratory of Adaptive Immunity at IMG in 2016, Dr. Stepanek has developed an internationally recognized research program that dissects how T cells integrate signals from their receptors and co-receptors to make fate decisions. His group has uncovered unique roles of co-receptor–bound LCK in helper and cytotoxic T cells, identified a new IL-17 receptor subunit critical for T cell-mediated autoimmune pathology, and revealed novel mechanisms governing self-tolerance and functional T-cell diversity.
To directly connect mechanism to physiology, his team makes extensive use of animal models, including syngeneic tumor models, autoimmune models driven by IL-17 signaling, and thymic development models elucidating lineage choice and co-receptor/LCK control of self-reactivity. These approaches have enabled the lab to bridge molecular immunology with disease-relevant biology.
Dr. Stepanek is the recipient of an ERC Starting Grant (2019) and an ERC Consolidator Grant (2025), the only ERC grants in the field of immunity and immunotherapy (LS6) ever awarded in Czechia, and an EMBO Installation Grant. He is also a laureate of the J.E. Purkyne Fellowship of the Czech Academy of Sciences and the Eastern Star Award of the European Federation of Immunological Societies. His laboratory regularly publishes in prestigious journals such as Nature Immunology, Nature Communications, EMBO Journal, eLife, and actively collaborates across Europe and beyond.
In addition to leading cutting-edge research, Dr. Stepanek is deeply committed to mentoring the next generation of immunologists, having supervised more than 15 PhD and MSc students. He teaches immunology courses at Charles University and serves on national and international evaluation panels. He is regularly invited to speak at international conferences and seminars.
At the ImmunoBridge 2026 conference, Dr. Stepanek will deliver a keynote lecture titled “Signaling pathways shape the outcomes of T-cell fate choices.”
Katarzyna studied biotechnology at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and subsequently earned her PhD in biomedicine at the Faculty of Medicine at Lund University in Sweden. She completed postdoctoral training in immunology at the Technical University of Denmark in Copenhagen and in virology at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Germany.
Since 2024, Katarzyna has been a tenure-track assistant professor and research group leader in stromal cell biology at the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna in Austria. Her research integrates expertise in fibroblast biology, immunology, and virology to investigate how stromal cells contribute to immunomodulation and host–microbe interactions.
In her keynote talk, Lymphoid Tissue Fibroblasts in Immunity and Infection, Katarzyna will discuss the emerging roles of stromal fibroblasts in shaping immune responses and influencing outcomes of infection, highlighting new perspectives and potential therapeutic opportunities.
Session Expert:
During the session on hypersensitivity, Andrzej Eljaszewicz, PhD, will serve as the expert. Dr. Eljaszewicz is a medical biotechnologist and immunologist, currently acting as the Director of the Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the Medical University of Białystok, Poland, and serving as the Head of the Tissue and Cell Bank at the University Clinical Hospital in Białystok.
He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Central European Journal of Immunology, the official journal of the Polish Society for Experimental and Clinical Immunology, and an active member of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI), where he currently serves as Secretary of the Immunology Section.
Dr. Eljaszewicz leads a young and dynamic research team focused on advancing translational approaches in immunology and regenerative medicine. His scientific work centers on the immunopathology of asthma, with particular interest in airway remodeling, extracellular matrix dynamics, and immune regulation. In parallel, he leads translational research on next-generation biological wound dressings, including ECM-based scaffolds, mesenchymal stem cell–derived products, and extracellular vesicles, aimed at improving therapies for chronic and hard-to-heal wounds.
Dr. hab. Paulina Niedźwiedzka-Rystwej, professor at the University of Szczecin, leader of the research team of experimental immunology and immunobiology of infectious and cancer diseases at the Institute of Biology of the University of Szczecin, Poland, Director of the Center for Experimental Immunology and Immunobiology in Infectious Diseases and Cancer, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland, Deputy Director of the Institute of Biology at the University of Szczecin. She has been associated with the University of Szczecin since the beginning of her scientific career in 2005. Author and co-author of over 200 scientific papers on veterinary immunology, virology, and immunobiology of infectious and cancer diseases, with a total IF of over 260. She conducts research on the mechanisms of immune response in infectious and cancerous diseases, focusing on phenomena such as apoptosis, autophagy, and T-cell exhaustion. Her work includes, among others, analysis of the immune response in rabbits infected with various strains of the Lagovirus europaeus virus and research on the activation of apoptosis in infections caused by this pathogen. In addition, she evaluates the antimicrobial and anticancer properties of bee products, such as honey and propolis, studying their therapeutic potential in the context of cancer and infectious diseases. She is the founder of the IMMUNO Apiary, established in 2022 at MOBI Kulice. She is also the co-author of translations of textbooks on immunology and the president-elect of the Polish Society for Experimental and Fundamental Immunology. She has been a keynote speaker at numerous international immunology conferences, co-founder of the First International School of Immunology in Poland. Recipient of grants from the National Science Centre, and the National Centre for Research and Development in the field of veterinary immunology and infectious diseases in humans. Winner of awards for scientific activity, including the West Pomeranian Nobel Prize, as well as teaching awards, e.g., Faculty Mentor, Medal of the National Education Commission. Certified mentor and tutor. At the ImmunoBridge 2026 conference, Dr. hab. Paulina Niedźwiedzka-Rystwej will deliver a keynote lecture titled Exhausted but Not Defeated: How PD-1 Pathways Influence Anti-Cancer Immunity.
Dr. Róisín McManus completed her PhD at Trinity College Dublin under the joint supervision of Prof. Marina Lynch and Prof. Kingston Mills (2015) where she studied the effect of infection on the brain with age and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Róisín then moved to Germany where she first worked with Prof. Dr. Michael Heneka (2015-2021) and then Prof. Dr. Eicke Latz (2021-2024) at the Institute of Innate Immunity, University of Bonn and the German Centre for Neurodegenerative diseases (DZNE),where she uncovered a new role for NLRP3 in the progression of AD and dementia. In 2024, Róisín was awarded a Fellowship from the DZNE to establish her own independent research group, ‘Translational Neuroimmunology’. The group make use of preclinical models and clinical samples to uncover how environmental factors like diet contribute to the progression of dementia. Róisín and her team are particularly interested in the role of chronic innate immune activation and metabolic signaling pathways in this process.
At the ImmunoBridge 2026 conference, Dr. Róisín McManus will deliver a keynote lecture titled ,,Microglial innate immune signalling as a driver of dementia”.