Alice Assinger takes over professorship in the subject field Cardiovascular Medicine

Alice Assinger, a natural scientist at MedUni Vienna's Institute of Vascular Biology and Thrombosis Research, has taken up a professorship (§99/4) in the subject field Cardiovascular Medicine with effect from 1 October 2023. A nutritional scientist and geneticist by training, she researches mechanisms of the immune system. Alice Assinger researches the interaction between the immune system and haemostasis. In particular, she is investigating the interaction between platelets and the innate immune system in order to better understand their effects on the inflammatory process in infections and cardiovascular diseases. Besides their important role in haemostasis, platelets are also involved in the defence against bacteria and viruses by amplifying and accelerating essential functions of the immune system. In turn, innate immune cells are not only involved in immune defence, but also influence platelet function and coagulation. Through these so-called immunothrombotic processes, uncontrolled activation of the immune system can thus also lead to the formation of thromboses, which can result in severe complications, such as COVID-19 or bacterial sepsis.