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Posts

Hints to smooth your adventures in biomedical research

less than 1 minute read

Published: November 04, 2025

Here are a few pieces of advice and learnings that (would) have proven valuable in my PhD and throughout – in particular, but not exclusively, for scientists in biomedical research in the earliest stages of their career:

Don’t mistake statistical significance for biological relevance.
Reproduce key findings your project is based upon.
Titrate everything you use.
A time kinetic is a titration of time. Also titrate time.
Know your model.
Know how your reagents are working.
Know what the steps in your protocol are good for.
Know the genetics of your mice.
Check the genotype of mice (identity of any reagents) you receive from collaborators.
Know how the technical equipment works.
Talk to people.
Use positive and negative controls in each experiment.
Keep up-to-date with the literature.
Know the question you are addressing.
Take your time to choose the right question.
Take your time for planning.
Take your time for analysis.
Choose role models and understand how they approach projects.
Be open to adopt new technology.
Be open to question your assumptions.
To be continued…

news

New review out in NRI: Targeting organelle function in T cells for cancer immunotherapy

Published: October 09, 2025

My colleagues Luca Gattinoni and Jeremy Baldwin from the Leibniz Institute for Immunotherapy and I dive into the fascinating world of organelles in T cell-based cancer immunotherapies - from breakthrough technologies to study organelle functions to innovative strategies that supercharge T cells’ organelles. We’re thrilled about the opportunity to share our insights and appreciate the outstanding editorial support by Nature Reviews Immunology.
Check out how improving organelle fitness ignites T cell fitness:
Publication
Press release

Participating in the GeneNovate 2026 program!

Published: December 02, 2025

Happy to have the chance to participate in the 2026 GeneNovate program aimed at fostering translational and entrepreneurial exploitation of research in gene and cell therapies. In addition, it’s an exciting opportunity to foster interdisciplinary regional and national networking in this growing topic area.
Watch this space for updates!

portfolio

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publications

Kidney Dendritic Cells Induce Innate Immunity against Bacterial Pyelonephritis

Tittel AP, Heuser C, Ohliger C, Knolle PA, Engel DR, Kurts C. 2011. J Am Soc Nephrol. Aug 1, 2011 22: 1435-1441
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Functionally relevant neutrophilia in CD11c diphtheria toxin receptor transgenic mice

Tittel AP*, Heuser C*, Ohliger C, Llanto C, Yona S, Hämmerling GJ, Engel DR, Garbi N*, Kurts C*. Nat Meth. Feb 26, 2012 9: 385-390
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Molecular Identification of GD3 as a Suppressor of the Innate Immune Response in Ovarian Cancer

Webb TJ, Li X, Giuntoli RL 2nd, Lopez PH, Heuser C, Schnaar RL, Tsuji M, Kurts C, Oelke M, Schneck JP. Cancer Res. May 26, 2012 72: 3744-3752.
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Mouse model for pyelonephritis

Tittel AP, Heuser C, Kurts C. 2013. Curr Prot Immunol. Apr 1, 2013. 101: 15.23.1-9.
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Exclusive CX3CR1 dependence of kidney DCs impacts glomerulonephritis progression

Hochheiser K, Heuser C, Krause TA, Teteris S, Ilias A, Weisheit C, Hoss F, Tittel AP, Knolle PA, Panzer U, Engel DR, Tharaux P-L, Kurts C. 2013. J Clin Inv. Sept 1, 2013 123(10): 4242–4254.
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Localisation of N acetylaspartate in oligodendrocytes/myelin

Nordengen K, Heuser C, Rinholm JE, Matalon R, Gundersen V. Brain Struct Funct. March 1, 2015 220(2): 899-917.
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A grain of salt on kidney dendritic cell function in allograft rejection

Jobin K, Heuser C, Kurts C. Kid Int Kid Int. Jan 4, 2016 89(1): 14–16.
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CD103+ Kidney Dendritic Cells Protect against Crescentic GN by Maintaining IL-10-Producing Regulatory T Cells

Evers BDG, Engel DR, Böhner AMC, Tittel AP, Krause TA, Heuser C, Garbi N, Kastenmüller W, Mack M, Tiegs G, Panzer U, Boor P, Ludwig-Portugall I, Kurts C. 2016. J Am Soc Nephrol. Nov 27, 2016 (11): 3368-3382.
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Prolonged IKKβ inhibition improves ongoing CTL antitumor responses by incapacitating regulatory T cells

Heuser C*, Gotot J*, Piotrowski EC, Philipp M-S, Courrèges CFJ, Otte MS, Guo L, Schmid-Burgk JL, Hornung V, Heine A, Knolle PA, Garbi N, Serfling E, Evaristo C, Thaiss F, Kurts C. Cell Rep. October 17, 2017 (21): 578-586.
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Bcl10-controlled Malt1 paracaspase activity is key for the immune suppressive function of regulatory T cells

Rosenbaum M, Gewies A, Pechloff K, Heuser C, Engleitner T, Gehring T, Hartjes L, Krebs S, Krappmann D, Kriegsmann M, Weichert W, Rad R, Kurts C, Ruland J. Nat Commun. May 28, 2019 (10): 2352.
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Meeting the challenges of high-dimensional data analysis in immunology

Palit S, Heuser C, Almeida GP, Theis FJ, Zielinski CE. Front Immunol. July 3, 2019 (10): 1515.
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Renal Denervation Exacerbates LPS- and Antibody-Induced Acute Kidney Injury, but Protects from Pyelonephritis in Mice

Böhner AMC, Jacob AM, Heuser C, Stumpf NE, Effland A, Abdullah Z, Meyer-Schwesiger C, von Vietinghoff S, Kurts C. J Am Soc Nephrol. Oct, 2021 32(10): 2445-2453.
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c-Myb redefines the hierarchy of stem-like T cells

Heuser C, Gattinoni L. Nat Immunol. Oct 3, 2022 23(10): 1405-1407
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Targeting lactate metabolism for cancer immunotherapy - a matter of precision

Heuser C, Renner K, Kreutz M, Gattinoni L. Semin Canc Biol. Dec 7, 2022 88: 32-45.
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Inflammatory Cues Direct Skin-Resident Type 1 Innate Lymphoid Cells to Adopt a Psoriasis-Promoting Identity

Evers BDG, Hils M, Heuser C, Hoelge IM, Argiriu D, Skabytska Y, Kaesler S, Posch C, Knolle PA, Biedermann T. JID Innov. July, 2023 3(4): 100204.
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Conditional NKT cell depletion in mice reveals a negative feedback loop regulating CTL cross-priming

Heuser-Loy C*, Baumgart A-K*, Philipp M-S, Courrèges CJF, Thaiss CA, Hackstein C-P, Holland T, Evaristo C, Garbi N, Kurts C. J Immunol. Jan 1, 2024 212(1): 35-42.
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Interleukin-10 gives exhausted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells a second breath

Heuser-Loy C. Cancer Commun. July 12, 2024 44(7): 787-790.
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Ectopic LMO4 expression enhances CD8+ T cell stemness and tumor rejection by boosting IL-21-STAT3 signaling.

Schelker RC, Fioravanti J, Mastrogiovanni F, Baldwin JG, Li P, Chen P, Vadasz T, Spolski R, Rana N, Heuser-Loy C, Slavkovic-Lukic D, Pullugula S, Lin J-X, Oh J, Noronha P, Grandinetti P, Lecce M, Hesse L, Kocks E, Martin-Santos A, Gebhard C, Telford W, Ji Y, Restifo NP, Rehli M, Herr W, Leonard WJ, Gattinoni L. Signal Transduct Target Ther. Aug 9, 2024 9(1): 199.
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LSD1 inhibition improves efficacy of adoptive T cell therapy by enhancing CD8+ T cell responsiveness

Pallavicini I, Frasconi TM, Catozzi C, Ceccaci E, Tiberti S, Haas D, Samson J, Heuser-Loy C, Nava Lauson CB, Mangione M, Preto E, Bigogno A, Sala E, Iannacone M, Mercurio C, Gattinoni L, Caruana I, Kuka M, Nezi L, Minucci S, Manzo T. Nat Commun. Aug 27, 2024 (15): 7366
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Intercellular nanotube-mediated mitochondrial transfer enhances T-cell metabolic fitness and antitumor efficacy

Baldwin JG, Heuser-Loy C*, Saha T*, Schelker RC, Slavkovic-Lukic D, Strieder N, Hernandez-Lopez I, Rana N, Barden M, Mastrogiovanni F, Martin Santos A, Raimondi A, Brohawn P, Higgs BW, Gebhard C, Kapoor V, Telford WG, Gautam S, Xydia M, Beckhove P, Kontarakis Z, Corn JE, Iannacone M, Inverso D, Rehli M, Fioravanti J, Sengupta S, Gattinoni L. Cell. Nov 14, 2024 187(23):6614-6630.e21.
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Targeting organelle function in T cells for cancer immunotherapy

Baldwin JG, Heuser-Loy C, Gattinoni L. Nat Rev Immunol. Oct 9, 2025.
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teaching

Teaching experience 1

Undergraduate course, University 1, Department, 2014

This is a description of a teaching experience. You can use markdown like any other post.

Teaching experience 2

Workshop, University 1, Department, 2015