Birgit Strobl

University Assistant
Current Position: Group Leader Department of Biomedical Sciences
» CV (PDF)

University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna
Department of Biomedical Sciences
Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics
Veterinärplatz 1
1210 Vienna , Austria

Phone: +43 (0)1 25077-5604
E-Mail: birgit.strobl@vetmeduni.ac.at
ORCID: 0000-0001-5716-3212
» www.vetmeduni.ac.at; www.jak-stat.at

Main Research Interests

Our major interest is the Janus kinase (JAK)/ signal transducer and activator (STAT) signaling cascade and its role in health and disease. We are particularly interested in the JAK/STAT family members tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) and STAT1 and how they regulate tisssue homeostasis, immune cell activation and plasticity, inflammation (endotoxemia, E. coli-induced peritonitis, ConA-induced hepatitis, allergic skin inflammation), the immune defence against infections (Listeria monocytogenes, Citrobacter rodentium, Salmonella typhimurium, murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV), encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV), vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV)) and tumour immune surveillance (transplant models). We use transgenic mice to study signaling networks in vivo and analyse molecular mechanisms of signal transduction and transcriptional control in primary cells. Currently, we are using knockin and conditional knockout mice to (a) decipher kinase-dependent and -independent functions of TYK2 (b) characterize cell type-specific functions of TYK2 (macrophages, dendritic cells, NK cells, T cells), (c) analyse the role of STAT1 in macrophages during viral infections, (d) determine transcriptional activities of the individual STAT1 isoforms (STAT1α and STAT1β) and (e) dissect the role of STAT1α and STAT1β in the immune defence in vivo.

Scientific Education & Career History

• since 2012         Principle Investigator, Univ. Ass., Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna
• since 2005         Univ. Ass., Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna
• 2002 - 2005       PI junior group (FWF-funded, stand-alone project) at the Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Austria
• 2001                  Postdoctoral follow at the Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Austria
• 1999 - 2001       Postdoctoral fellow at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (now Cancer Research UK), London UK
• 1998                  Postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Molecular Biology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Salzburg, Austria
• 1993 – 1997      Doctoral thesis at the Institute of Molecular Biology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Salzburg, Austria
• 1986 – 1992      Study of Biology (Genetics) at the University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

Experience in Scientific Management and Organization & Student Supervision

• Since 2006        Supervision & training of 4 Diploma/Masters (M.Sc.) & 7 PhD students
• 2010                  Scientific Advisory Board member, FEBS Special Meeting on Jak-Stat Signalling: from Basics to Disease, Vienna, Austria
• 2014                  Local organizing committee 28th Annual Conference of the European Macrophages and Dendritic Cell Society (EMDS), Vienna, Ausria
• 2017                  Local organizing committee Annual Meeting of the ÖGAI (Austrian Society for Allergology and Immunology), Vienna, Austria

Supervision of Doctoral (PhD) Thesis Students

(past five years – 7 since 2005)

• Christian Semper–PhD Student – 2007 – 2012
  "Analysis of mouse models to dissect the role of STAT1 isoforms and kinase-independent functions of TYK2“
• Agnieszka Witalisz-Siepracka–PhD Student - 2012 – 2016
  "The function of the Janus kinase TYK2 in tumorigenesis“
• Matthias Parrini- PhD Student - 2012 – ongoing
  "STAT1 isoforms in transcriptional control”
• Andrea Pölzl –PhD Student – 2014 - ongoing
  "TYK2 in the innate immune response during sepsis”
• Dominika Gogova –PhD Student– 2015 - ongoing
  "Cell type-specific functions of TYK2“

Invited Conference Lectures

(5 recent selected)

• 2017 - Invited Speaker at the 2nd International Conference on Cytokine Signaling in Cancer, Aegean Conferences, Heraklion, Greece
• 2016 - Invited Speaker at the 26th Translational Conference of the Center of Chronic Immunodeficiency, Freiburg, Germany
• 2016 - Invited Speaker at the Meeting of the 10th Anniversary of Center for Proteomics, Rijeka, Croatia
• 2016 - Invited Speaker at the 1st Splicing Conference, Caparica, Portugal
• 2015 - Invited Speaker at the 1st International Conference on Cytokine Signaling in Cancer, Aegean Conferences, Chania, Greece
• 2014 - Invited Speaker Joint Symposium between Taiwan-Austria Research Community, Taipeh, Taiwan

Member of Reviewing Panels, Editorial Boards, Scientific Organizations

• since 2010       Member of the European Macrophage and Dendritic Cell Society (EMDS)
• since 2014       Review Editor for Frontiers in Microbial Immunology
• 2017-2019       Board member ÖGAI (Austrian Society for Allergology and Immunology)

Most Important Research Funding

• 2013 – 2017, FWF-– Tyk2 in the innate immune response during sepsis - 346 k€
• 2013 – 2017,  FWF-SFB F28 –  Special research programme ‘Jak-Stat Signalling: From Basics to Disease; www.jak-stat.at; Subproject - 369 k€

Key International Collaborators

(selection of 5 with joint publications)

• Andrew Larner  Virginia Commonwealth University, USA - andrew.larner@vcuhealth.org 
• Klaus Pfeffer      University of Düsseldorf, GER - klaus.pfeffer@hhu.de 
• Peter Staehli      Universitätsklinikum Freiburg, GER - peter.staeheli@uniklinik-freiburg.de
• Stipan Jonjic      Medical Faculty of Rijeka, CRO - stipan.jonjic@medri.uniri.hr
• Peter Ghazal      University of Edinburgh, UK - pghazal@staffmail.ed.ac.uk 

List of Publications (2012 - 2016)

Overall, 60 original publications, 6 peer-reviewed reviews and 1 editorial. The cumulative impact factor of all publications is 401. Based on Google Scholar, publications received more than 2200 citations, with a current life-time Hirsch h Index of 25.
Since 2012, 29 origianl peer-reviewed papers, 2 peer-reviewed reviews and 1 editorial.

• Raje V, Derecka M, Cantwell M, Meier J, Szczepanek K, Sisler JD, Strobl B, Gamero A, Harris TE, Larner AC. (2016). Kinase inactive Tyrosine kinase (Tyk2) Supports Differentiation of Brown fat Cells. Endocrinology. Nov 1:en20152048. [Epub ahead of print]
• Maier BB, Hladik A, Lakovits K, Korosec A, Martins R, Kral JB, Mesteri I, Strobl B, Müller M, Kalinke U, Merad M, Knapp S. (2016). Type I interferon promotes alveolar epithelial type II cell survival during pulmonary Streptococcus pneumoniae infection and sterile lung injury in mice. Eur J Immunol. 46(9):2175-86. doi: 10.1002/eji.201546201.
• Floss DM, Klöcker T, Schröder J, Lamertz L, Mrotzek S, Strobl B, Hermanns H, Scheller J. (2016). Defining the functional binding sites of interleukin 12 receptor β1 and interleukin 23 receptor to Janus kinases. Mol Biol Cell. 27(14):2301-16. doi: 10.1091/mbc.E14-12-1645.
• Castiglia, V., Piersigilli, A., Ebner, F., Janos, M., Goldmann, O., Damböck, U., Kröger, A., Weiss, S., Knapp, S., Jamieson, A., Kirschnig, C., Kalinke, U., Strobl, B., Müller, M., Stoiber, D., Lienenklaus, S., and Kovarik, P. (2016). Type I Interferon Signaling Prevents Lethal Systemic IL-1 Signaling-Driven Hyperinflammation during Invasive Bacterial Infection of Soft Tissue. Cell Host Microbe 19, 375-387. DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2016.02.003.
• Gotthardt, D., Putz, E.M., Grundschober, E., Prchal-Murphy, M., Straka, E., Kudweis, P., Heller, G., Bago-Horvath, Z., Witalisz-Siepracka, A., Cumaraswamy, A.A., Gunning, P.T., Strobl, B., Müller, M., Moriggl, R., Stockmann, C., and Sexl, V. (2016). STAT5 is a key regulator in NK cells and acts as molecular switch from tumor surveillance to tumor promotion. Cancer Discov 6, 414-429. DOI:10.1158/2159-8290.CD-15-0732
• Hainzl, E., Stockinger, S., Rauch, I., Heider, S., Berry, D., Lassnig, C., Schwab, C., Rosebrock, F., Milinovich, G., Schlederer, M., Wagner, M., Schleper, C., Loy, A., Urich, T., Kenner, L., Han, X., Decker, T., Strobl, B., and Müller, M. (2015). Intestinal epithelial cell tyrosine kinase 2 transduces interleukin-22 signals to protect from acute colitis. J Immunol 195, 5011-5024. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1402565
• Leitner, N.R., Witalisz-Siepracka, A., Strobl, B., and Müller, M. (2015). Tyrosine kinase 2 - surveillant of tumours and bona fide oncogene. Cytokine 2015 Nov 26. pii: S1043-4666(15)30086-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.cyto.2015.10.015. [review]
• Meissl, K., Macho-Maschler, S., Müller, M., and Strobl, B. (2015). The good, the bad and the unknown faces of STAT1 in carcinogenesis. Cytokine 2015 Nov 26. pii: S1043-4666(15)30099-5. DOI: 10.1016/j.cyto.2015.11.011 [review]
• Prchal-Murphy, M., Witalisz-Siepracka, A., Bednarik, K.T., Putz, E.M., Gotthardt, D., Meissl, K., Sexl, V., Müller, M., and Strobl, B. (2015). In vivo tumor surveillance by NK cells requires TYK2 but not TYK2 kinase activity. Oncoimmunology 4:11, e1047579. DOI: 10.1080/2162402X.2015.1047579
• Rauch, I., Rosebrock, F., Hainzl, E., Heider, S., Majoros, A., Wienerroither, S., Strobl, B., Stockinger, S., Kenner, L., Müller, M., and Decker, T. (2015). Non canonical effects of IRF9 in intestinal inflammation: more than type I and type III interferons. Mol Cell Biol 35, 2332-2343. DOI: 10.1128/MCB.01498-14
• Wienerroither, S., Shukla, P., Farlik, M., Majoros, A., Stych, B., Vogl, C., Cheon, H., Stark, G.R., Strobl, B., Müller, M., and Decker, T. (2015). Cooperative transcriptional activation of antimicrobial genes by STAT and NFκB pathways through concerted recruitment of the mediator complex. Cell Rep 12, 300-312. DOI: 0.1016/j.celrep.2015.06.021
• Wiesauer, I., Gaumannmüller, C., Steinparzer, I., Strobl, B. and Kovarik, P. (2015). Promoter occupancy of STAT1 in interferon responses is regulated by processive transcription. Mol Cell Biol 35, 716-27. DOI: 10.1128/MCB.01097-14
• Pathria, P., Gotthardt, D., Prchal-Murphy, M., Putz, E.M., Holcmann, M., Schlederer, M., Grabner, B., Crncec, I., Svinka, J., Musteanu, M., Hoffmann, T., Filipits, M., Berger, W., Poli, V., Kenner, L., Bilban, M., Casanova, E., Müller, M., Strobl, B., Bayer, E., Mohr, T., Sexl, V., and Eferl, R. (2015). Myeloid STAT3 promotes formation of colitis-associated colorectal cancer in mice. Oncoimmunology 4, e998529. DOI: 10.1080/2162402X.2014.998529
• Bauer, E., Witalisz, A., Strobl, B. and Stoiber, D. (2015). Methods to study tumor surveillance using tumor cell transplantation into genetically engineered mice. Methods Mol Biol, 1267, 439-456 [review]. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-2297-0_22
• Bosmann, M., Russkamp, N.F., Strobl, B., Roewe, J., Balouzian, L., Pache, F., Radsak, M.P., van Rooijen, N., Zetoune, F.S., Sarma, J.V., Núnez, G., Müller, M., Murray, P.J., and Ward, P.A. (2014). Interruption of macrophage-derived IL-27(p28) production by IL-10 during sepsis requires STAT3 but not SOCS3. J Immunol 193, 5668-5677. DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1302280
• Bosmann, M., Strobl, B., Kichler, N., Pache, F., Murray, P.J., Müller, M., and Ward, P.A. (2014). Tyrosine kinase 2 promotes sepsis-associated lethality by facilitating production of interleukin-27. J Leukoc Biol 96, 123-131. DOI: 10.1189/jlb.3A1013-541R
• Gotthardt, D., Putz, E.M., Straka, E., Kudweis, P., Baggio, M., Poli, V., Strobl, B., Müller, M., and Sexl, V. (2014). Loss of STAT3 in murine NK cells enhances NK cell-dependent tumor surveillance. Blood 124, 2370-2379. DOI: 10.1182/blood-2014-03-564450
• Keil, E., Finkenstädt, D., Wufka, C., Trilling, M., Liebfried, P., Strobl, B., Müller, M., and Pfeffer, K. (2014). Important scaffold function of the Janus kinase 2 uncovered by a novel mouse model harboring a Jak2 activation loop mutation. Blood 123, 520-529. DOI: 10.1182/blood-2013-03-492157
• Leitner, N.R., Lassnig, C., Rom, R., Heider, S., Bago-Horvath, Z., Eferl, R., Müller, S., Kolbe, T., Kenner, L., Rülicke, T., Strobl, B., and Müller, M. (2014). Inducible, dose-adjustable and time-restricted reconstitution of Stat1 deficiency in vivo. PLoS One 29, e86608. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0086608
• Liehl, P., Zuzarte-Luís, V., Chan, J., Zillinger, T., Baptista, F., Carapau, D., Konert, M., Hanson, K.K., Carret, C., Lassnig, C., Müller, M., Kalinke, U., Saeed, M., Ferreira Chora, A., Golenbock, D.T., Strobl, B., Prudencio, M., Coelho, L.P., Kappe, S.H., Superti-Furga, J., Pichlmair, A., Vigário, A.M., Rice, C.M., Fitzgerald, K.A., Barchert, W., and Mota, M.M. (2014). Host-cell sensors for Plasmodium activate innate immunity against liver-stage infection. Nat Med 20, 47-53. DOI: 10.1038/nm.3424
• Rauch, I., Hainzl, E., Rosebrock, F., Heider, S., Schwab, C., Berry, D., Stoiber, D., Wagner, M., Schleper, C., Loy, A., Urich, T., Muller, M., Strobl, B., Kenner, L., and Decker, T. (2014). Type I interferons have opposing effects during the emergence and recovery phases of colitis. Eur J Immunol 44, 2749-2760. DOI: 10.1002/eji.201344401
• Schwab, C., Berry, D., Rauch, I., Rennisch, I., Ramesmayer, J., Hainzl, E., Heider, S., Decker, T., Kenner, L., Müller, M., Strobl, B., Wagner, M., Schleper, C., Loy, A., and Urich, T. (2014). Longitudinal study of murine microbiota activity and interactions with the host during acute inflammation and recovery. ISME J 8, 1101-1114. DOI: 10.1038/ismej.2013.223
• Strobl., B and Moriggl, R. (2014). Recovery from chemotherapy depends on STAT1 for replenishment of B lymphopoiesis. J Leukoc Biol 95, 849-851. [Editorial]. DOI: 10.1189/jlb.0114051
• Semper, C., Leitner, N.R., Lassnig, C., Parrini, M., Mahlakoiv, T., Rammerstorfer, M., Lorenz, K., Rigler, D., Müller, S., Kolbe, T., Vogl, C., Rülicke, T., Staeheli, P., Decker, T., Müller, M., and Strobl, B. (2014). STAT1β is not dominant negative and is capable of contributing to IFNγ-dependent innate immunity. Mol Cell Biol 34, 2235-2248. DOI: 10.1128/MCB.00295-14
• Vielnascher, R.M., Hainzl, E., Leitner, N.R., Rammerstorfer, M., Popp, D., Witalisz, A., Rom, R., Karaghiosoff, M., Kolbe, T., Müller, S., Rülicke, T., Lassnig, C., Strobl, B., and Müller, M. (2014). Conditional ablation of TYK2 in immunity to viral infection and tumor surveillance. Transgenic Res 23, 519-529. DOI: 10.1007/s11248-014-9795-y
• Bancerek, J., Poss, Z.C., Steinparzer, I., Sedlyarov, V., Pfaffenwimmer, T., Mikulic, I., Dölken, L., Strobl, B., Müller, M., Taatjes, D.J., and Kovarik, P. (2013). CDK8 kinase phosphorylates transcription factor STAT1 to selectively regulate the interferon response. Immunity 38, 250-262. DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2012.10.017
• Warszawska, J.M., Gawish, R., Sharif, O., Sigel, S., Doninger, B., Lakovits, K., Mesteri, I., Nairz, M., Boon, L., Spiel, A., Fuhrmann, V., Strobl, B., Müller, M., Schenk, P., Weiss, G., and Knapp, S. (2013). Lipocalin-2 deactivates macrophages via induction of IL-10 and impairs outcome during pneumococcal pneumonia. J Clin Invest 123, 3363-3372. DOI: 10.1172/JCI67911
• Berry, D., Schwab, C., Milinovich, G., Reichert, J., Mahfoudh, K.B., Decker, T., Engel, M., Hai, B., Hainzl, E., Heider, S., Kenner, L., Müller, M., Rauch, I., Strobl, B., Wagner, M., Schleper, C., Urich, T., and Loy, A. (2012). Phylotype-level 16S rRNA analysis reveals new bacterial indicators of health state in acute murine colitis. ISME J 6, 2091-2106. DOI: 10.1038/ismej.2012.39
• Kernbauer, L., Maier, V., Stoiber, D., Strobl, B., Schneckenleithner, C., Sexl, V., Reichart, U., Kalinke, U., Reizis, B., Jamieson, A., Müller, M., and Decker, T. (2012). Conditional Stat1 ablation reveals the importance of interferon signaling for immunity to Listeria monocytogenes infection. PLoS Pathog 8, e1002763. DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1002763
• Derecka, M., Gornicka, A., Koralov, S. B., Szczepanek, K., Morgan, M., Raje, V., Sisler, J., Zhang, Q., Otero, D., Cichy, J., Rajewsky, K., Shimoda, K., Poli, V., Strobl, B., Pellegrini, S., Harris, T. E., Seale, P., Russell, A. P., McAinch, A. J., O'Brien, P. E., Keller, S. R., Croniger, C. M., Kordula, T.and Larner, A. C. (2012). Tyk2 and Stat3 regulate brown adipose tissue differentiation and obesity. Cell Metab 16, 814-824. DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2012.11.005
• Mizutani, T., Neugebauer, N., Putz, E.M., Moritz, N., Simma, O., Zebedin-Brandl, E., Gotthardt, D., Warsch, W., Eckelhart, E., Kantner, H.-P., Kalinke, U., Lienenklaus, S., Weiss, S., Strobl, B., Müller, M., Sexl, V., and Stoiber, D. (2012). Conditional and IFNAR1 ablation reveals distinct requirements of type I IFN signaling for NK cell maturation tumor surveillance. Oncoimmunology 1, 1027-1037. DOI: 10.4161/onci.21284
• Prchal-Murphy, M., Semper, C., Lassnig, C., Wallner, B., Gausterer, C., Teppner-Klymiuk, I., Kobolak, J., Müller, S., Kolbe, T., Karaghiosoff, M., Dinnyes, A., Rülicke, T., Leitner, N.R., Strobl, B., and Müller, M. (2012). TYK2 Kinase Activity Is Required for Functional Type I Interferon Responses In Vivo. PLoS One 7, e39141. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0039141

10 Most Important Career Publications

(only as first or corresponding author)

1. Prchal-Murphy, M., Witalisz-Siepracka, A., Bednarik, K.T., Putz, E.M., Gotthardt, D., Meissl, K., Sexl, V., Müller, M., and Strobl, B. (2015). In vivo tumor surveillance by NK cells requires TYK2 but not TYK2 kinase activity. Oncoimmunology, 4:11, e1047579. DOI: 10.1080/2162402X.2015.1047579
   
2. Semper, C., Leitner, N.R., Lassnig, C., Parrini, M., Mahlakoiv, T., Rammerstorfer, M., Lorenz, K., Rigler, D., Müller, S., Kolbe, T., Vogl, C., Rülicke, T., Staeheli, P., Decker, T., Müller, M., and Strobl, B. (2014). STAT1β is not dominant negative and is capable of contributing to IFNγ-dependent innate immunity. Mol Cell Biol 34, 2235-2248. DOI: 10.1128/MCB.00295-14
   
3. Grunert, T., Leitner, N. R., Marchetti-Deschmann, M. Miller, I., Wallner, B., Radwan, M., Vogl, C., Kolbe, T., Kratky, D., Gemeiner, M., Allmaier, G., Muller, M. Strobl, B. (2011). A comparative proteome analysis links tyrosine kinase 2 (Tyk2) to the regulation of cellular glucose and lipid metabolism in response to poly(I:C). J Proteomics 74 (12), 2866-2880.
   
4. Strobl, B., D. Stoiber, V. Sexl, and M. Mueller. 2011. Tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) in cytokine signalling and host immunity. Front Biosci (Landmark Ed) 16: 3214-3232. review
5.  Radwan, M., Stiefvater, R., Grunert, T., Sharif, O., Miller, I., Marchetti-Deschmann, M., Allmaier,G., Gemeiner, M., Knapp, S., Kovarik, P., Müller, M. and Strobl, B. (2010). Tyrosine kinase 2 controls interleukin-1b production at the translational level. J Immunol 185, 3544-3553. DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.0904000
   
6. Hofmann, E., Reichart, U., Gausterer, C., Guelly, C., Meijer, D., Muller, M., Strobl, B. (2010). Octamer-binding factor 6 (Oct-6/Pou3f1) is induced by interferon and contributes to dsRNA-mediated transcriptional responses. BMC Cell Biol 11, 61
   
7. Radwan, M., Miller, I., Grunert, T., Marchetti-Deschmann, M., Vogl, C., O'Donoghue, N., Dunn, M. J., Kolbe, T., Allmaier, G., Gemeiner, M., Muller, M., Strobl, B. (2008). Proteomics 8 (17), 3469-3485.
   
8. Strobl, B., Bubic, I., Bruns, U., Steinborn, R., Lajko, R., Kolbe, T., Karaghiosoff, M., Kalinke, U., Jonjic, S., Müller, M. (2005). Novel functions of Tyk2 in the antiviral defense against murine cytomegalovirus. J. Immunol. 175, 4000-4008. DOI: 10.4049/ jimmunol.175.6.4000.
   
9. Costa-Pereira, A. P.*, Tininini, S*., Strobl, B*., Alonzi, T., Schlaak, J. F., Is'harc, H., Gesualdo, I., Newman, S. J., Kerr, I. M., Poli, V. (2002). Mutational switch of an IL-6 response to an interferon-gamma-like response. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 99 (12), 043-8047.* equal contribution
   
10. Strobl, B., Arulampalam, V., Is'harc, H., Newman, S. J., Schlaak, J. F., Watling, D., Costa-Pereira, A. P., Schaper, F., Behrmann, I., Sheehan, K. C., Schreiber, R. D., Horn, F., Heinrich, P. C. and Kerr, I. M. (2001). A completely foreign receptor can mediate an interferon-gamma-like response. EMBO J 20, 5431-5442. DOI: 10.1093/emboj/20.19.5431.