The CRONIC-PPF Faculty

	Susanne SATTLER Ass.-Prof. Dr. rer. nat. (PhD) The role and diagnostic value of B cells and auto-antibodies in progressive pulmonary fibrosis
Associate Professor at the Otto Loewi Research Center, Division of Pharmacology, and Division of Cardiology Division of Pharmacology, Otto Loewi Research Centre, Medical University of Graz, Neue Stiftingtalstraße 6, 8010 Graz Phone: +43-316-385 74090, ✉ e-mail WWW: Forschungsportal Med Uni Graz ORCID: 0000-0001-9932-4109 PubMed: PubMed (nih.gov)
• Profile      • Curriculum vitae     • Publications

Susanne Sattler is a molecular and cellular immunologist with focus on the crosstalk between the immune system and target organs. Her scientific contributions include evidence supporting the autoimmune nature of heart failure and functional characterization of dendritic cells, T and B cells in the failing heart. To the present consortium she will contribute her scientific expertise on tissue immunology, including the role of B cells and auto-antibodies in inducing and maintaining tissue inflammation and fibrosis.

Project

Research interests

1. My major research interest is the cellular and molecular crosstalk between the immune system and target organs such as the heart. I currently lead an international team of researchers at Imperial College London, UK, and the Medical University of Graz, Austria, aiming to characterise the role of the adaptive immune response in cardiac tissue immunopathology during systemic inflammation/hairsp;/ autoimmunity as well as after myocardial injury. (e.g. Sattler, 2024; [↗]; Sattler et al., 2023; [↗]; Sattler, 2021; [↗])
2. Of specific relevance to the present proposal is my work on autoimmunity and the related role of B cells and auto-antibodies; we have previously shown the existence of active ongoing autoimmunity against the heart during chronic heart failure and aim to expand this to other organs and tissues. (e.g. Sintou et al., 2020; [↗]; Forte et al., 2021a; [↗]; Forte et al., 2021b; [↗]; Kuppe et al., 2022; [↗]; de Winter et al., 2024; [↗])
3. Collaborative work, making use of my unique expertise in settings of immune-mediated cardiac damage, included the assessment of anti-heart auto-antibodies in COVID-19 related cardiac conditions, as well as the characterisation of immune-checkpoint inhibitor myocarditis in a new HLA-humanized mouse model. (e.g. Patel et al., 2023; [↗]; Racine et al., 2023; [↗]; Racine et al., 2024; [↗])
4. Ongoing work is investigating the involvement of antigen-presentation pathways and B&bnbsp;cells in their role as contributors to early wound healing as well as chronic immunopathology through the generation of auto-antibodies. (e.g. de Winter et al., 2024; [↗])

04.04.2026 CRONIC-PPF · Doctoral Programme “Clinical & Research Oriented Network for Innovative Classification of Progressive Pulmonary Fibrosis”