Dr. Anna Simon

Biography

Katja Simon is a trained immunologist focusing on the autophagy process and its implications for the immune system. She completed her PhD under Avrion Mitchison at the DRFZ in Berlin, investigating TH1 cytokines related to autoimmune diseases. Following her doctorate, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre d'Immunologie Marseille Luminy, studying transcription factors that regulate thymic cell death. She later pursued another postdoc at Oxford, investigating cell death molecules such as Trail and FasL in thymic selection and tumor immunity. As a principal investigator, she leads an independent research line on autophagy, a crucial cellular degradation pathway that impacts cell fate in the hematopoietic system. Her research group has made significant discoveries about how autophagy maintains healthy red blood cells and promotes differentiation, essential for preventing aging in the immune system.

Research Interests