The aim of my studies is the identification of cell-autonomous and -extrinsic factors governing maintenance and differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells and function of immune cells from mice and men over time. This includes the understanding of immune cell homeostasis, e.g. their generation and turn-over during steady-state and under inflammatory and infectious conditions in young adults and during the aging process. The research of my laboratory, thus, focuses on uncovering basic mechanisms that regulate immune cell biology in the young and elderly, and this understanding may pioneer novel translational approaches.