Prof. Dr. Petra Arck

Prof. Petra Arck honorary doctor of the University of Pécs since 7 November 2013.

Short CV

Dr. Petra Arck obtained her medical training and her medical doctoral thesis at Tuebingen University in Germany in 1993. She completed research training in Reproductive Immunology at McMaster University and University of Toronto before returning to Germany to obtain her full medical licence. Her first time appointment as a faculty member was at the Charité, University 

Medicine Berlin in 2005. In 2007, she was awarded with a Canada Research Chair position. In 2010, she accepted a position as professor of experimental Feto-Maternal Medicine at the University Medical Center in Hamburg, Germany. Dr Arck has received a number of research 

awards acknowledging her interdisciplinary research focus in the field of Reproductive Immunology. She was the President of the European Society for Reproductive Immunoloy from 2007-2010. She is a mentor for young female investigators within German Society of female physicians. She has received continuous research funding over the last 15 years and is a reviewer for national and international granting agencies, scientific periodicals and graduate schools.

Abstract

Over the past decades, the understanding of adaptational processes mounted during mammalian reproduction has significantly improved. Intricate pathways occurring at the fetomaternal interface, such as the formation of a functional synapse between invading fetal trophoblast cells, and the involvement of various maternal immune cell subsets and epigenetically modified decidual stromal cells have been identified. These complex pathways synergistically create a tolerogenic niche in which the semiallogeneic fetus can develop. New insights into fetomaternal immune cross-talk may help us to understand the pathogenesis of pregnancy comp

lications as well as poor postnatal health. Moreover, the effects of maternal immune adaptation to pregnancy on autoimmune disease activity are becoming increasingly evident. Thus, insights into fetomaternal immune cross-talk not only advance our understanding of pregnancy-related complications but also may be informative on how immune tolerance can be modulated in clinical settings outside the context of reproduction.