Pandemics and Alertness member WG1 (Understanding the virus), LINXS Fellow

Institute of Virology, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany

Janis Müller studied Molecular Medicine in Ulm, Germany and focused on the sexual transmission of HIV during his PhD. As postdoc he worked on the sexual transmission of typically arthropod-borne Zika virus and discovered an novel innate mechanism by which extracellular vesicles in body fluids compete with viruses for cell attachment and thereby provide a natural barrier against transmission. He is experienced in studying immune responses, host interactions and antiviral strategies against viruses of different families including lentiviruses, flaviviruses, coronaviruses and orthomyxoviruses. In Marburg, he was appointed junior professor for immune responses against highly pathogenic RNA viruses and studies the mechanism, breadth, origin and regulation of antiviral EVs. Since 2023, he is vice president of the German Society for EVs.