I was born in Vienna in 1980. After receiving my Bachelor’s degree (2005) and my master degree (2007) in biomedicine and biotechnology from the VUW I started with my PhD thesis at the Clinical Immunology. Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) is one of the most economically devastating diseases affecting swine industry worldwide. The immune response of swine against PRRSV is characterised by a severe immunosuppression of cells of the adaptive immune system. The role of Natural Killer (NK) cells, which play a crucial role in the early phase of immune responses against viral infections, for PRRSV is still unclear. Studies on porcine NK cells, their phenotypes, functions and interactions with other cells of the immune system in infected and non- infected piglets is the first topic of the project.