Immunology Seminar Series

March 3rd at 14-15 (Finland time)

Virtual event

Flyer

Michael Bonelli, Department of Internal Medicine III, Medical University of Vienna: Immunological insights into Rheumatoid arthritis

Register for the Immunology Seminar Series email list to get calendar invitation to the online seminar: https://link.webropolsurveys.com/S/D29C32AA6E8A2F7A

Host: Professor Riitta Lahesmaa ( rilahes@utu.fi )

Immunology seminar series is jointly organised by the Finnish Society for Immunology, InFLAMES Flagship and Turku Bioscience. For further information contact Anne Lahdenperä  ( ankahy@utu.fi ) or Riitta Lahesmaa ( rilahes@utu.fi ), University of Turku.

Michael Bonelli studied medicine at the Medical University of Vienna, where he completed his doctoral thesis at the Division of Rheumatology investigating the role of regulatory T cells in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. In 2005, he began his clinical training in internal medicine at the Medical University of Vienna. From 2011 to 2014, he conducted a research fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. John O’Shea at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA. During this period, his research focused on the role of epigenetic modifications in the identity, function, and stability of regulatory T cells under both steady-state and inflammatory conditions.

Following his return to Vienna, he completed his specialization in rheumatology and was appointed Associate Professor at the Division of Rheumatology at the Medical University of Vienna. In 2024, he became Deputy Head of the Division of Rheumatology and director of the basic and translational science unit, and in 2025 he was appointed Full Professor of Experimental Rheumatology.

Michael Bonelli has received multiple competitive grants and awards from the Austrian Science Fund and the Austrian National Bank and is actively involved in numerous national and international research collaborations. His research program focuses on the mechanisms driving autoimmunity, with particular emphasis on epigenetic regulation of immune cell function. Within the framework of functional precision medicine, his group develops novel approaches to predict treatment response and enable personalized therapeutic strategies. In addition, his work in structural immunity investigates how cellular interactions within inflamed tissues sustain chronic inflammatory processes.

Link to Michael Bonelli’s publications