Margarete FOCKE-TEJKL, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Pathophysiology and Allergy Research, Division of Immunopathology, Center of Pathophysiology, Infectiology, and Immunology Medical University of Vienna
Education:
MSc: Institute of General and Experimental Pathology, University of Vienna
PhD: Institute of General and Experimental Pathology, University of Vienna
Postdoctoral Training: Research assistant at Dermatologic and Paediatric Allergy Clinic (FAZ, Floridsdorfer Allergie Zentrum, A-1210 Vienna)
Research Interests:
• Purification and biochemical characterization of allergens involving proteomics and synthetic peptide chemistry
• Development of recombinant hypoallergenic allergen-derivatives for immunotherapy
Biography:
Margarete Focke-Tejkl is Assistant Professor at the Department of Pathophysiology and Allergy Research, Division of Immunopathology, Center of Pathophysiology, Infectiology, and Immunology, Medical University of Vienna. She obtained her MSc. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Vienna. Margarete Focke-Tejkl is the author of a number of publications on biochemical characterization of allergens and development of ELISA systems for the quantification of allergens using allergen-specific antibodies with the aim to characterize natural allergen extracts used for diagnosis and therapy. She has been working recently on the development of recombinant hypoallergenic allergen-derivatives for immunotherapy especially on development of allergy vaccines which are based on non-allergenic carrier-bound, allergen derived peptides. Using this technology she has advanced a vaccine based on carrier-bound grass pollen allergen peptides successfully into clinical evaluation (Clinical trials.gov identifier NCT01350635, NCT01445002).
Proposed PhD research projects:
No projects for the call 2017
Selected publications:
- Focke-Tejkl M, R. Valenta. 2012. Safety of engineered allergen-specific immunotherapy vaccines. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. 12:555-563. PMID: 22885888.
- Niespodziana K, M. Focke-Tejkl, B. Linhart, V. Civaj, K. Blatt, P. Valent, M. van Hage, H. Grönlund, R. Valenta. 2011. A hypoallergenic cat vaccine based on Fel d 1-derived peptides fused to hepatitis B PreS. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 127:1562-1570.e6. PMID: 21411130.
- Focke M., I. Swoboda, K. Marth and R. Valenta. 2010. Developments in allergen-specific immunotherapy: from allergen extracts to allergy vaccines bypassing allergen-specific IgE and T cell reactivity. Clin Exp Allergy; 40:385-397. PMID: 20210812.
- Focke M, K: Marth, S: Flicker, R: Valenta. 2008: Heterogeneity of commercial timothy grass pollen extracts. Clin Exp Allergy. 38:1400-8. PMID: 18564332.
- Focke M, V. Mahler, T. Ball, WR. Sperr, Y. Majlesi, P. Valent, D. Kraft, and R. Valenta. 2001. Nonanaphylactic synthetic peptides derived from B cell epitopes of the major grass pollen allergen, Phl p 1, for allergy vaccination. FASEB J; 15:2042-2044. PMID: 11511525
