Cezmi Akdis

Cezmi Akdis is a medical researcher in the field of immunology. He is director

He has been a professor in University of Zürich Medical Faculty since 2006, and one of the directors of the Christine Kühne-Center for Allergy Research and Education in Davos, Switzerland.

Education & Early Career Akdis received his medical degree from Uludag University Medical Faculty, Bursa, Turkey in 1985. He has specialized in infectious disease and clinical microbiology 1991 and in immunology at Uludag University in 1994, and further was named a Venia Legendi (Habilitation) at the University of Zürich 2002. He completed a five-year residency in Infectious Diseases followed by two years of specialization in Immunology at Uludağ University, Bursa, Turkey, in 1987. Between 1993 and 1994, he worked as a research fellow at Ciba-Geigy Ltd., Allergy Research, Basel, Switzerland. In 2006, he was appointed Extraordinarius Professor at the University of Zurich Medical Faculty, with promotion rights in 2008 from the Science Faculty. He became Ordinarius Professor at the University of Zurich Medical Faculty in 2013. Executive committee member between 2003 and 2015 and vice president between 2007 and 2011 Directorium member, CK-CARE Davos 2009 Editor of three Global Atlases. Allergy, Asthma, and Allergic Rhinitis and Chronic Rhinosinusitis Associate editor 2007-2015 Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

Publications Akdis has published more than 750 peer-reviewed articles in the fields of allergy and immunology. His current h-index is 169. He has also been recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate (formerly Thomson Reuters), reflecting his significant impact in the field of immunology. Demonstration of human T and B regulatory cells, 1998 Journal of Clinical Investigation. This study for the first time demonstrates human regulatory T and B cells in vivo during venom allergen tolerance in beekeepers and be venom immunotherapy. Immune suppressive role of histamine receptor 2 and counter regulation of T cells subsets by histamine receptor 1 and 2. Mechanisms of eczema in atopic dermatitis and contact dermatitis and epithelial barrier damage by immune inflammatory response. Demonstration of human in vivo antigen-specific Treg cell vs Th2 cell balance. In vivo human allergen tolerance model (bee venom and beekeepers) and human Treg cells, 2008 Journal of Experimental Medicine. Demonstration of transcriptional regulation of Foxp3 by RUNX 1 and 3. Demonstration of human Type 2 NK cell subset, 2002, European Journal of Immunology. Mechanisms of epithelial barrier defect in asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis, 2003 - 2009, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Demonstration of human regulatory NK Cells, 2008 Journal of Immunology. First studies mentioning endotypes of asthma and other allergic inflammatory diseases. Demonstration of human regulatory innate lymphoid cells. More than 50 European Guideline articles and Position papers (Food Allergy, Allergen Immunotherapy, Biologicals, Environmental Influence in our discipline, including the leadership, organization and publication the first European Guideline in the area of Food Allergy. Basis for “Epithelial barrier hypothesis” for the development of allergic and autoimmune disease, 2000-2025, More than 40 original research articles. More than 40, first time published COVID-19 articles, focused on mechanisms, allergy patient care during COVID-19 and severity, including the first cases of human to human infection of 140 subjects published in 19 February 2020, before the cases started in Europe. Invention and development of a device for skin barrier detection: Early studies on epithelial barrier ended up with the development of a skin impedancemeter device called NaviSense from SciBase Sweden for allergic and inflammatory skin disease. First prototype was developed together with CSEM Landquart in 2013. Clinical validation studies are published by SIAF. Currently available for clinical usage, FDA certified, a new version that detects skin barrier in 1 second has been recently developed.

Development of the Epithelial Barrier Theory: This theory explains reasons for the development and increased prevalence of many chronic non-communicable diseases, such as allergic, autoimmune, metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases. There has been a steep rise in these diseases, reaching epidemic proportions and now affecting almost two billions of humans. Intact skin and mucosal barriers are crucial for the maintenance of tissue homeostasis as they protect host tissues from infections, environmental toxins, pollutants and allergens. Hoechst Marion Roussel Award, 1998 Dr.-Karl Heyer-Preis, 1998 Turkish Science Association, TUBITAK Exclusive Award,2007 European Federation of Immunology Societies, World Immunology Day Lecture, 2014 Swiss Society of Allergy Immunology honorary membership, 2017 Honorary member of the Swiss Society of Allergy Immunology (SGAI-SSAI), 2018 Harold Nelson Memorial Lecture (AAAAI), 2021 Erich Fuchs Prize (German Allergy Association), 2021 Honorary Professor, Bursa-Uludag University, 2021 Asia Pacific Allergy Clinical immunology Society, Life-time achievement award, 2022 Honorary Professor, Harvard University, 2023 Visiting Professor Peking University, Beijing, China 2025 Cezmi Akdis Prize Given by the EAACI to Young Scientists, 2025 Conference / Congress Organizations

Founder and organizer of World Immune Regulation Meetings, Davos Founder and organizer of the first EAACI Immunology Winter Schools, 2001 Congress President EAACI Congress 2012 Geneva, EAACI/WAO (World Allergy Congress) 2013 Milan