During his PhD studies, Andreas Bondrup Bagger investigated how the lung’s resident immune cells, alveolar macrophages, respond to infection with respiratory viruses. Alveolar macrophages are the first immune cells to encounter inhaled pathogens and are important for the ensuing immune response. By infecting patient-derived cells with virus and examining them individually using single cell sequencing, Andreas found significant heterogeneity in how these immune cells defend not only themselves but also neighbouring cells against infection.

These findings enhance our understanding of the innate immune system and viral infections in primary cells.

The PhD study was completed at the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Aarhus University.

This summary was prepared by the PhD student.

Time: Friday, 16 January 2026 at 14:00
Place: Building 1871, room 120, AUD Nucleus, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Universitetsbyen 81, 8000 Aarhus C
Title of PhD thesis: The Response of Primary Human Alveolar Macrophages to Viral Infection
Contact information: Andreas Bondrup Bagger, e-mail: abb@mbg.au.dk, tel.: +45 23 49 48 81
Members of the assessment committee:
Professor Thomas Decker, Department of Microbiology, Immunobiology and Genetics, University of Vienna, Austria
Professor Daniel Todt, Department of Translational and Computational Infection Research, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
Associate Professor Christian Kroun Damgaard (chair), Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Denmark
Main supervisor:
Professor Rune Hartmann, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Denmark
Language: The PhD dissertation will be defended in English

The defence is public.
The PhD thesis is available for reading at the Graduate School of Natural Sciences/GSNS, Ny Munkegade 120, building 1521, 8000 Aarhus C