Philipp Olias

Cutting Edge Congress
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Philipp Olias, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ECVP

Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany, and Institute of Animal Pathology (Vetsuisse Faculty), University of Bern, Switzerland

Philipp Olias studied veterinary medicine at Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, where he also completed his PhD and training in veterinary pathology (Dipl. ECVP) under the mentorship of Achim Gruber. Following his doctoral studies, he undertook a postdoctoral fellowship in the group of David Sibley at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, USA. There, he focused on the immune evasion mechanisms of Toxoplasma gondii and discovered a secreted effector protein of T. gondii that blocks the interferon response in infected host cells through a mechanism involving the host’s Mi-2/NuRD complex. In 2016, Philipp Olias joined the Institute of Animal Pathology at the Vetsuisse Faculty in Bern, Switzerland, as a research group leader. His research group studies the mechanisms by which pathogenic apicomplexan parasites, including Toxoplasma, Theileria and Cryptosporidium, exploit and manipulate their hosts and cause disease. Using advanced techniques such as genome-scale CRISPR screens and models (GEMs), his team has been able to identify common host metabolic enzymes that are critical for the intracellular survival of these parasites, suggesting potential alternative therapeutic approaches to combat these diseases. In 2022, Philipp Olias was appointed head of the Institute of Veterinary Pathology at the Justus Liebig University in Germany.

5 selected publications

Maurizio et al. (2024). Host cell CRISPR genomics and modelling reveal shared metabolic vulnerabilities in the intracellular development of Plasmodium falciparum and related hemoparasites. Nature Communications 15:6145.

Brühlmann et al. (2024). TurboID mapping reveals exportome of secreted intrinsically disordered proteins in the transforming parasite Theileria annulata. mBio 15:e0341223.

Dettwiler et al. (2022). TIDE analysis of Cryptosporidium infections by gp60 typing reveals obscured mixed infections. Journal of Infectious Diseases 225, 686–695.

Ortiz-Catedral et al. (2019). Haemoproteus minutus is highly virulent for Australasian and South American parrots. Parasites and Vectors 12, 40.

Olias et al. (2016). Toxoplasma effector recruits the Mi-2/NuRD complex to repress STAT1 transcription and block IFN-γ-dependent gene expression. Cell Host Microbe 20, 72–82.