At the 12th CeMM Landsteiner Lecture, held by Yasmine Belkaid, Director of the NIH Center for Human Immunology and Director of the NIAID Microbiome Program, everything revolved around one of the most important emerging fields of research in life sciences: the microbiome. Yasmine Belkaid explained how microorganisms living in and on our bodies influence every aspect of our immune system, and why research in this field will change the medicine of the future.

We carry around nearly the same number of microbes as we have cells in our body, yet those microscopic symbionts express a hundred times more genes than human cells. This ratio, which Yasmine Belkaid presented at the beginning of her lecture, gave the audience a first impression of the magnitude of the microbiome’s influence.

The communities of bacteria, protists, fungi and viruses that reside throughout the human body affect many aspects of its physiology. However, the immune system is by far the most tightly interwoven part. Refuting the old paradigm of an immunity whose sole purpose is to defend the body against invading pathogens, Yasmine Belkaid showed how it constantly interacts with the commensal microbes and how those single celled organisms control the immune cells with a mind-blowing precision.

Among the many examples of her groundbreaking research, Yasmine highlighted the finding that single types of microbes are able to engage specific kinds of immune cells, like the CD8 lymphocytes which are promoted by S. epidermidis. Without causing inflammation, this specific interaction contributes to the protection of the skin against the infection with a pathogen. Yasmine Belkaid further described how “mysterious” non-classical MHC-I molecules present commensal antigens in the establishment of a homeostatic immunity and how CD8⁺ T cell inducing bacteria even promote wound healing.

To understand the profound alliance between the microbiota and the immune system in detail, Yasmine Belkaid concluded her talk, will be a major progress for combating a broad range of medical conditions, from infection to inflammation to cancer.

370 scientists of different fields and interested lay people showed with a long-lasting applause and many questions their appreciation of Yasmine Belkaid´s outstanding talk. The baroque festive hall of the Austrian Academy of Sciences was filled to the last place and many more followed the lecture via video stream in an adjacent room. Framed by the music of Bela Koreny and Ethel Merhaut, who delightfully performed two Viennese songs, the evening was rounded off with a cocktail reception and lively discussions.

Our warmest thanks to Yasmine Belkaid for this wonderful 12^th CeMM Landsteiner Lecture!

Image Gallery CeMM Landsteiner Lecture 2018

Former CeMM Landsteiner Lectures

A video of Yasmine Belkaids Lecture will be available soon.