Research Interests

Many human diseases are characterized by an excessive proteolytic degradation of proteins of the extracellular matrix (e.g., bone and cartilage diseases, atherosclerosis, destructive lung diseases, cancer) or by an inappropriate proteolytic processing of proteins leading to auto-immune diseases and disorders caused by regulatory defects. Our laboratory is leading in the identification of novel therapeutic targets among intracellular lysosomal proteases and is focused on the role of these proteases in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis and certain forms of immune disorders. Our aim is to understand the role of lysosomal proteases in health and disease which may lead to new therapeutic approaches to treat these illnesses. To achieve our objective, we exploit an interdisciplinary approach which includes methods of molecular biology, enzymology, crystallography, histology, animal models and a wide range of collaborations with clinical and biotech institutions.