Questions and AnswersProf. Dr. Stefan H. E. Kaufmann

How or why did you become involved in infection research, what fascinates you about this subject?
I had the privilege of studying immunology and medical microbiology in Mainz with Professor Paul Klein, one of the most charismatic teachers and mentors I had. Thus, I became fascinated about immunology and infectious diseases in the mid-70s and immediately tried to combine these two.

What are you working on at the moment?
I am most interested in research on infectious diseases which cause major health problems. In an attempt to combine both my scientific interests and expertise in health threats, I chose to develop in a rational way, a vaccine against tuberculosis. The vaccine was developed on the basis of basic immunologic findings, studies on tuberculosis and molecular expertise. It has been licensed and hopefully will be in clinical trials this year. To speed up clinical vaccine testing we are heavily involved in the definition of biosignatures, which will enable us to distinguish between latent infection and active disease. This is possible in tuberculosis because 90% of those who are infected will never develop disease and only 10% will succumb. Since one third of the total world population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, numbers of individuals are large enough, particularly in Africa. In addition, we are trying to better understand immunity in bacterial infections. Last but not least, we have fun in better understanding the immune response. We do not want to compromise the quality of our science, but at the same time, have decided not to work on simple models but choose real pathogens and not to shy away from one of the most complicated one, M. tuberculosis.

What were the turning points in science, in career, in life that influenced your decisions?
Interestingly, I have remained in the field of infection and immunity for more than 30 years. Hence, at different stages, our work must have been so rewarding that I decided not to change topics. I was always fascinated by the complex cross-talk between the most simple organisms (bacteria) with the most complex one (humankind) and during these studies I learned that the most simple organisms can triumph in these interactions quite often. I became interested in societal, economic and political consequences of major infectious diseases when I was an advisor for the WHO in the 1980s. However, this was not a sufficient stimulus to become fully emerged in such issues. It was only after my interactions with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that I found it most rewarding to do basic research in infection biology with the aim of contributing to a solution for society.

What was your most important scientific discovery?
This was the discovery that CD8⁺ T cells profoundly contribute to protection against bacteria. When I started my work in the late 1970s, general agreement existed that CD4 T cells (i.e., helper T cells) were thought to be responsible for protection against bacteria and CD8 T cells (i.e., cytolytic T cells) took care of viral infections. We now know that the situation is much more complicated and that CD8 T cells are an integral part of the defense forces against numerous intercellular bacteria including M. tuberculosis. The cross-talk between different T cell populations has been a major focus of my research since then.

What drives you and carries you on? What do you love about your work?
I am driven by a combination of highly sophisticated basic research, which can only be performed with state-of-the-art technologies, with issues that arise at field sites in developing countries. We thus constantly ask the question: how can basic science contribute to solutions relevant to the people who suffer most of infectious diseases?

What influenced and impressed you and your life and therefore science? Idols?
I don’t have any idols in science but I consider Melinda and Bill Gates as extremely important driving forces of my vision of how science can contribute to health solutions.

What would you recommend to someone starting out in science? What would be your advice for young scientists?
Decide whether you want to go for highly sophisticated model systems, which may open new directions of general importance in science, or go for solutions to major biomedical problems. Even though the latter path may be more cumbersome it can be highly rewarding. In either case never compromise on the quality of your work.

What would have been your alternative plan (plan B) if science/your job had not worked out?
I probably would live in Subsaharan Africa, ideally on a ranch.

What are your dreams for the future?
I would be happy if the Millennium Development Goals would be realized by 2015. Obviously my major interest is the reduction in incidences of HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other neglected diseases, not the least, by means of scientific achievements.

What do you think is important and should be worked on in the future?
See my recommendations for young scientists above.

What do you do when you are not working?
I collect old books on medicine. It is fascinating to read how in the 16^th century, Fracastoro described infectious agents although he had never seen them. It is stimulating to look at the drawings of Leeuwenhoek, who for the first time saw microorganisms under the microscope in the 17^th century. It is highly stimulating to read the details of the discovery of the etiology of tuberculosis by Robert Koch in the 19^th century. And it fascinating to see how immunology was born in the golden age of medical microbiology and how much the fathers of immunology, Paul Ehrlich and Elias Metchnikoff, understood the innate and acquired immune response. I recommend reading Elias Metchnikoff’s work describing phagocytosis from the standpoint of an evolutionary zoologist and how Paul Ehrlich combined the application of basic immunology and medical application. Although they received the Nobel Prize 100 years ago (1908), it is still exciting reading for today’s immunologists and infection biologists.

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