Research

Erwin Tschachler is distinguished for numerous, frequently cited contributions to the field of skin research. The majority of these were made from the faculty of medicine of the University of Vienna, which in 2004 has become a medical university.

Since 1996 Erwin Tschachler is full professor of dermatology and venereology and since 2004 leads the research division of skin biology and pathobiology. Among his more than 200 original scientific contributions, the discovery of a new cell in mouse epidermis, the first description of dendritic cells in bronchial epithelium, the first demonstration of dendritic cell infection by the human immunodeficiency virus and the proof that myelinating as well as non myelinating nerve fibers are present in touch domes of human skin are most notable. In addition his research has contributed major insights into the pathogenesis of Kaposi’s sarcoma, including the attribution of the tumor cells to the lymphatic endothelial lineage.

In the past ten years the focus of his research was on keratinocyte biology with the characterization of the unique epidermal caspase 14 and the elucidation of mechanism of corneocyte denucleation as well as on evolutionary aspects of the skin barrier.