Starting March Iris Gratz will have a dual affiliation with the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg and the Johannes Kepler University Linz.
The lab in Salzburg will wind down over the coming year and most of the team will move to the Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria in March 2026.
Our new address will be:
Johannes Kepler University (JKU)
Faculty of Medicine
Institute of Medical Systems Biology
ADM Building, 6th floor
Krankenhausstrasse 5
4020 Linz
We are hiring! More information here .
Scientific focus and profile:
Autoimmunity is caused by immune cells attacking harmless self-antigens (or commensal microbes) in host tissues, which they are supposed to protect. Conversely, cancer is a disease in which altered self-cells are not efficiently cleared from the tissue and are thus allowed to multiply. As a target tissue, we study the skin, a crucial barrier of the body against pathogenic invaders that is rich in immune cells. The principal goal of our research is to understand the role of cutaneous T cells and their cross-talk with skin structural cells in autoimmunity, wound healing and cancer. We utilize organotypic 3D-skin cultures and unique (humanized) mouse models to answer our basic research questions and perform preclinical studies. The overall goal of our group is to understand basic mechanisms of tissue immune regulation with the goal to lay the groundwork for novel therapeutic strategies to treat chronic and debilitating inflammatory skin conditions and skin cancer.
Research Network:
The research group is member of the Center of Tumor Biology and Immunology (CTBI) of the University of Salzburg and the Cancer Cluster Salzburg.
Iris Gratz is the speaker of a consortium grant called EpiFlaMe: Memory in Epithelial Cells – Organ Specificity and Cancer (SFB – F1009), which is funded by the Austria Science Fund (FWF). EpiFlaMe focuses on understanding memory processes in epithelial cells upon inflammation and cancer development using multi-omics profiling, computational modeling, and dedicated experimental coculture models.
Further, the team is part of the FWF-funded consortium SFB-F70 HIT – HDACs as regulators of T cell-mediated immunity in health and disease. Within this project we study the differentiation of CD4+ T cells in response to skin antigens with a focus on the role of TCR signals and HDACs. In our (pre-)clinical work we collaborate with the EB Research Institute and the EB house Austria, a Centre of Expertise for Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) and Special Clinic for “Butterfly Children”. These are a group of patients that suffer from a rare genetic condition in which the skin blisters very easily. In this work, we study the role of skin-tropic T cells in the regulation of skin wound healing and cancer development, which aligns well with our role within the Cancer Cluster Salzburg.
