Prof Ben Wielockx, Dresden University of Technology

Oxygen sensing in health and disease: What have we learnt so far?

Abstract:

Research in the group of Ben Wielockx focuses on how hypoxia-regulated signaling intersects with vascular biology and immune control. His team has helped define how dysregulation of endothelial pathways alters vascular architecture, barrier properties, and the organization of hematopoietic niches. In parallel, they have advanced understanding of granulocyte biology by showing how hypoxia-driven transcriptional programs influence neutrophil activation, tissue recruitment, and inflammatory dynamics.

Their work further explores how systemic steroid levels and glucocorticoid-driven stress signaling integrate with hypoxia pathways, shaping vascular responses, inflammatory thresholds, and tissue resilience under steady-state and disease conditions. Across these lines of research, Ben and his group connect molecular mechanisms with systemic outcomes, illustrating how oxygen sensing, vascular integrity, endocrine signaling, and cellular stress responses collectively determine immune behavior and tissue homeostasis. Their research integrates mouse genetics, mechanistic signaling studies, and human validation to better understand vascular–immune interactions in both physiological and pathological settings.

 Web profile: 

(opens in a new window)Professor Ben Wielockx, (opens in a new window)Dresden University of Technology
Ben Wielockx is a biomedical researcher from Belgium, and University Professor at TU Dresden in Germany, where he also serves as Director of the Experimental Center at the Medical Faculty. He is a former Emmy Noether grant holder and former Heisenberg Professor of the German Research Foundation (DFG). His research focuses on hypoxia-regulated signaling in vascular and immune control, with a long track record clarifying how oxygen sensing shapes hematopoietic stem cell fate, endothelial integrity, and granulocyte behavior. His team has also shown how hypoxia and steroid-dependent pathways, particularly via HIF proteins, influence systemic hematopoiesis and immune adaptation.