Hana Schmeisser, Ph.D.

Staff Scientist

Education:

Ph.D., Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
M.Sc., University of P.J. Šafárik, Košice, Slovakia

Languages Spoken: Slovak
Headshot of Hana Schmeisser, Ph.D.

Biography

Dr. Schmeisser received her M.Sc. in Biology, summa cum laude, from the University of P. J. Šafárik in Košice, Slovakia, and her Ph.D. in Virology from Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia. In the year 2000, she joined Dr. Kathryn C. Zoon’s lab at CBER/FDA as a postdoctoral fellow. Later, she continued working with Dr. Zoon as her staff scientist at NIAID/NIH. Under Dr. Zoon’s mentorship, Dr. Schmeisser focused on studies of type I IFN structure and function. She also studied how IFN interacts with its receptor and activates signaling pathways, leading to the induction of ISGs such as IFIT3. She discovered a new function of type I IFN, induction of autophagy. In 2016, she joined Dr. Paolo Lusso’s lab. The current major focus of Dr. Schmeisser’s research is to study:

  • The immunomodulatory effects of IL-7 and its role in antiviral and antibacterial defenses;
  • The receptors and signaling pathways involved in IL-7-mediated induction and production of chemokines and cytokines;
  • The pro-inflammatory effects of type-I IFN and TNF during the chronic phase of HIV-infection;
  • The development of neutralizing antibodies against type-I IFN.