The prevalence of food allergies has reached epidemic levels, yet the cause remains largely unknown. In a recently published review, LIH Prof Desai discusses the clinical relevance of the gut mucosal barrier as a site for allergic sensitization to food. According to the group, studying the intricate links between the mucus barrier, the associated bacteria and the mucosal immune system may advance our understanding of the mechanisms to inform prevention and treatment strategies in food allergy.

The Human Biomonitoring Research Unit (HBRU) is specialized in the assessment of human exposure to pollutants and on the study of exposure-associated health outcomes. Research activities rely on both animal experimentation and human volunteers within epidemiological studies. The laboratory is equipped with up-to-date analytical equipment mainly consisting in CG-MS/MS and UHPLC-MS/MS).

The “Human Motion, Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine, Digital Methods” (HOSD) unit is a transversal and translational research platform of the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) conducting and supporting research related to movement, physical activity, physical function and mobility using laboratory-based, free-field, real-world and digital tools in orthopaedics and sports medicine as well as in other disease areas.

On November 9th, the Luxembourg Institute of Health and the University of Luxembourg / LCSB, under the aegis of Research Luxembourg, welcomed the André Losch Fondation and representatives from the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) to a special event dedicated to thanking both organisations for their financial support in COVID research.

The DNA Repair and Chemoresistance Group of the Department of Oncology carriesout fundamental and translational research on the molecular mechanismsgoverning DNA repair, chromatin dynamics and chemoresistance in cancer. Ourmain research interest resides in the identification & validation of novelDNA repair-based strategies to improve cancer treatment, with a particularfocus on glioblastoma (GBM). In this context, we have recently described a DNA repair and cell-cycle gene expression signature that segregates GBMpatients in two major groups and exposes potential therapeutic vulnerabilities.

Prof Mahesh Desai, Leader of the Eco-Immunology and Microbiome research group at DII, and his team showed that altering dietary fiber intake in mice was not only sufficient to alter susceptibility to common foodborne pathogens, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella Typhimurium, but also that it was able to do so regardless of the gut microbiome. Their results underscore the importance of an individual’s diet in the prevention and response to common enteric pathogens.

To be part of the “Food, Diet, Nutrition & Health (NUTRIHEALTH)” (Group Leader: Dr. T. Bohn) within the Department of Population Health at the LIH, we are currently looking for a Master Student in Nutrition, Nutritional Epidemology, Public Health or Bio-informatics with a focus on Diet & Health or comparable.

Lecture Series Cancer Research - "Identification and characterization of cell-of-origin DNA methylation signatures in human cancers" - Prof Frank Lyko