Simon Früh

I am now a post-doctoral fellow at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, in the College of Veterinary medicine, working on the responses of chickens to infection by viruses.
I originally came to Cornell as a DVM seeking Ph.D. student after I graduated from veterinary school at LMU Munich in 2016. I am now undertaking post-doctoral studies in LMU Munich on diseases and immunity in chickens. Living in Ithaca, I really came to appreciate the beautiful trails that are perfect for running or cross-country skiing in the woods, the local food, music and art (including locally roasted coffee and dry Riesling), and the very collaborative scientific environment at Cornell University. I spent the first three years of my graduate training in Professor Tait Wojno’s laboratory where I studied immunologic and genetic factors of canine atopic dermatitis. When that laboratory relocated to the University of Washington, I continued my training in Professor Colin Parrish’s laboratory, where I conducted studies of viral evolution and host immune responses. As a veterinarian, I wish to make meaningful contributions in the area of virus:host interactions in animals, with the ultimate goal of improving the health of all animals, including humans.
My work focused on viruses that can jump to new hosts and establish transmission in the new host species. On the host side, I sought to determine which viral epitopes are recognized by the host humoral immune response. On the viral side, I studied how viruses can evade antibody recognition, and whether antigenic change impacts viral fitness. Ultimately, my goal was to determine whether the antibody response shapes viral evolution in the host population.