Britta Eiz-Vesper is a Full Professor of Molecular Immunotherapy, Head Research and Development and Head of the alloCELL Registry and Lab of the Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Transplant Engineering at Hannover Medical School (MHH), Hannover, Germany. Britta Eiz-Vesper studied biology at the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University in Greifswald and received her doctorate in human pathogenic adenoviruses at the Hannover Medical School in 1996. Immediately after her doctorate, she worked in the research and development department of the DRK NSTOB Springe on stem cell, biological, and genetic engineering issues. Her work was supported by a research grant from the Dr. Wilhelm-Kempe-Foundation at the Chicago Children-Hospital with Dr. Moldwin. Since 1999, she has been working in the field of cellular immunotherapy with natural and genetically modified antigen-specific T cells at Hannover Medical School’s Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Transplant Engineering. In 2009, Britta Eiz-Vesper was appointed W2 professor.

Professor Eiz-Vesper has developed and established extensive procedures for donor identification, quality criteria of cellular Immunotherapeutic generation of cellular products and, immunomonitoring of patients before and after stem cell and organ transplantation for the production of antigen-specific T cells. Her work significantly contributed to the fact that the Hannover Medical School’s Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Transplant Engineering was granted the manufacturing permit for clinical-grade mono- and multi-antigen-specific T-cell products in 2014, which was expanded most recently for SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells. In 2013, Britta Eiz-Vesper, together with Britta Maecker-Kolhoff, established the world's first register of healthy donors for virus-specific T cells (www.alloCELL.org). To date, more than 450 T-cell preparations have been produced and used. More than 80% of the preparations come from related or unrelated third party donors.

Britta Eiz-Vesper is an expert in persion according to § 15 AMG. Since 2017, she has been a board member of the International Society of Cell Therapy (ISCT), co-editor of the journal Transfusion Medicine and Hemotherapy, and expert for national and international foundations. Furthermore, she is a member of the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) and the commission AWMF (Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Wissenschaftlichen Medizinischen Fachgesellschaften e.V.) for the development of the guideline register number 093-002 "Viral infections in organ and allogeneic stem cell transplant patients: diagnostics, prevention and therapy" (as of 31.05.2019, valid until 31.05.2023).

Professor Eiz-Vesper is lecturer and supervisor at the PhD Program Molecular Medicine as well as in the TRAIN Academy Hannover.

Professor Eiz-Vesper has a long-standing research interest in transplantation and transplantation immunology with a focus on viral complications and antiviral responses. She is considered a pioneer in providing all the tools necessary for T-cell therapy and is highly specialized in the field of immunogenetics and adoptive immunity. Her work aims to improve clinical outcomes for immunocompromised patients with and without a history of transplantation who are affected by viral infections or virus-related malignancies.

Another research interest of Britta Eiz-Vesper is the development and optimization of genetically engineered T and effector cells that selectively eliminate virus-infected, malignant or antibody-producing cells through the expression of chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) or recombinant T-cell receptors (TCRs).

Education and Professional Activities

• 1988 - 1993
  Studies of Biology at University of Greifswald
   
• 1993 - 1996
  Doctoral thesis (Dr. rer. nat.), Institute for Virology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
   
• 1993 - 1996
  Research Assistant at the Institute of Virology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
   
• 1996 - 1999
  Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Research Group Leader, German Red Cross Blood Centre, Springe, Germany
   
• 1998
  Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Children University Hospital, Chicago, US
   
• 1999 - 2003
  Research Group Leader, Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Transplant Engineering, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
   
• 2003 - 2009
  Assistant Professor (W1), Institute of Transfusion Medicine, Hannover Medical School
   
• 2007
  Habilitation in Molecular Medicine, Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Transplant Engineering, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
   
• 2007
  Specialization in Immunogenetics, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Immungenetik (DGI)
   
• Since 2009
  Associate Professor (W2), Head of R and D, Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Transplant Engineering, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
   
• Since 2009
  Expert in persion according to § 15 AMG
   
• 2015
  European Specialization in Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (ESHI), European Federation for Immunogenetics
   

 

Additional Activities

• 2013 - 2018
  Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Integrated Research and Treatment Centre (IFB-Tx, BMBF)
   
• 2017 - 2020
  Member of the International Society of Cell Therapy (ISCT), Regional Executive Committee, Europe
   
• Since 2017
  Member of the guideline committee “Virusinfektionen bei Organ- und Stammzelltransplantierten: diagnostisches Monitoring, Prophylaxe und präemptive Therapie“ (AWMF-Nr. 093-002)
   
• Since 2018
  Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Transplant Centre (BMBF)
   
• Since 2018
  Associate Editor Transfusion Medicine and Hemotherapy
   
• Since 2020
  Associate Member of the International Society of Cell Therapy (ISCT), Regional Executive Committee, Europe
   
• Since 2022
  Review Editor of Frontiers in in Alloimmunity and Transplantation
   
• Since 2022
  Member of the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF)
   

 

Research Fields

• Adoptive Immunity
• T-cell Therapy
• Transplant Immunology
• Genetic Engineering

 

PubMed Britta Eiz-Vesper Publication list (PubMed-Link)
 

 

Professor Britta Eiz-Vesper, PhD

Institute of Transfusion Medicine and Transplant Engineering
Hannover Medical School
Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1
30625 Hanover, Germany

 +49 511 532 9715
 +49 511 532 2079
eiz-vesper.britta@mh-hannover.de