The working group Infection and Immunity in Global Health investigates the role of innate and adaptive regulatory immune responses in chronic helminth infections. Its research focuses primarily on one of the world's most common worm diseases caused by the parasite Schistosoma mansoni (schistosomiasis), which affects more than 210 million people worldwide. 

The central research questions concern how the immune system of the human host is altered by the parasites, what adaptation mechanisms take place, and what positive and negative effects this has on other diseases of the host, such as allergies or infectious diseases (e.g. hepatitis), or on the effectiveness of vaccinations. In addition to a focus on basic research, clinical projects are investigating the effects of schistosome infection during pregnancy on the early childhood immune system and maternal health, as well as new drugs for treatment.