Dept. of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital - Dresden, DE
https://www.uniklinikum-dresden.de/de/das-klinikum/kliniken-polikliniken-institute/kik/forschung/molekulare-paediatrie 

Speaker: Session 5  -  Nucleic Acid Metabolism
 

Professor Min Ae Lee-Kirsch is Professor of Molecular Pediatrics at the University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, and a clinical geneticist specializing in rare immune-mediated diseases. Her research focuses on the genetic and molecular mechanisms of autoinflammatory and autoimmune disorders, particularly type I interferonopathies and dysregulation of innate immune sensing.

She has made seminal contributions to understanding how defects in nucleic acid metabolism trigger autoimmunity. Her work established that mutations in the DNA exonuclease TREX1 cause systemic lupus erythematosus, providing key evidence linking impaired clearance of endogenous nucleic acids to chronic immune activation. More recently, her group identified disease-causing variants in UNC93B1 that disrupt TLR7-mediated RNA sensing, leading to early-onset systemic autoimmunity.

By integrating human genetics with molecular immunology, her research has advanced the understanding of nucleic acid–driven immune responses and their role in disease, opening new avenues for targeted therapies.

For further information, please visit:
https://www.uniklinikum-dresden.de/en/the-hospital/departments-and-institutes/pediatrics/research/molecular-pediatrics/defects-of-the-innate-immune-system-in-autoinflammation-and-autoimmunity?set_language=en