Virology group has a long experience in studies evaluating the role of viruses and other microbes in immune-mediated diseases including type 1 diabetes, asthma, allergy and celiac disease. The group has studied microbe-disease associations in prospective cohorts and translated innovations to develop new treatments and better diagnostics.
One major initiative is the project developing an enterovirus vaccine that could prevent severe enterovirus diseases and type 1 diabetes. This project has generated a vaccine against Coxsackie B viruses which has been linked to type 1 diabetes. Currently, the vaccine is studied in phase 1 human trial. Another research topic deals with the role of environmental microbial biodiversity in the regulation of immune system and the risk of immune mediated diseases.
The long-term commitment to these research topics has created a strong research center in Tampere with wide international collaboration networks.