Dr. Gábor-Árpád Czirják

Scientist

Head of immunology lab

Department of Wildlife Diseases

 

Tel: 0049 (0) 30 5168 - 214
 
 

Short curriculum vitae

Gábor Á. Czirják is a research scientist at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) Berlin, Germany. After graduating in 2004 from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, Romania, he obtained his PhD in 2011 in the field of Veterinary Medicine & Ecology, Biodiversity and Evolution from the same university and from Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse, France. He joined the IZW as head of the wildlife immunology lab within the Department of Wildlife Diseases in 2010. His research interest covers several areas from the fields of eco-immunology, evolution of host-parasite interactions, conservation physiology and wildlife diseases. Over the years, he has been working with several taxonomic groups (reptiles, birds, mammals), but recently he mainly focuses on bats and carnivores. Since 2014 he is diplomat of the European College of Zoological Medicine, Wildlife Population Health speciality.
 
Projects
Research interests
  • ecological immunology
  • conservation physiology
  • wildlife population health
  • host-parasite interactions
Selected publications

Fritze M, Puechmaille SJ, Costantini D, Fickel J, Voigt CC*, Czirják GÁ* (in press): Determinants of defence strategies of a hibernating European bat species towards the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans. DEV COMP IMMUNOL 119, 104017. doi:10.1016/j.dci.2021.104017

Becker DJ, Albery GF, Kessler MK, Lunn T, Falvo CA, Czirják GÁ, Martin LB, Plowright RK (2020): Macroimmunology: The drivers and consequences of spatial patterns in wildlife immune defense. J ANIM ECOL 89, 972–995. doi:10.1111/1365-2656.13166

Carneiro D, Czirják GÁ*, Rowe M* (2020): Innate and adaptive immune proteins in the preen gland secretions of male house sparrows. J AVIAN BIOL 51, 02556. doi:10.1111/jav.02556

Hecht-Höger AM, Braun BC, Krause E, Meschede A, Krahe R, Voigt CC, Greenwood AD, Czirják GÁ (2020): Plasma proteomic profiles differ between European and North American myotid bats colonized by Pseudogymnoascus destructans. MOL ECOL 29, 1745–1755. doi:10.1111/mec.15437

Hornok S, Mühldorfer K, Takács N, Hofmann-Lehmann R, Meli ML, Gyuranecz M, Unnsteinsdóttir ER, Greenwood AD, Czirják GÁ (2020): Broad range screening of vector-borne pathogens in arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) in Iceland. ANIMALS 10, 2031. doi:10.3390/ani10112031

Prüter H, Franz M, Twietmeyer S, Böhm N, Middendorff G, Portas R, Melzheimer J, Kolberg H, von Samson-Himmelstjerna G, Greenwood AD, Lüschow D, Mühldorfer K, Czirják GÁ (2020): Increased immune marker variance in a population of invasive birds. SCI REP 10, 21764. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-78427-7

Schulze M, Jakop U, Schröter F, Herrmann C, Leiding C, Müller K, Jung M, Czirják GÁ (2020): Antibacterial defense in bull and boar semen: a putative link to the microbiome and reproductive strategy? THERIOGENOLOGY 157, 335–340. doi:10.1016/j.theriogenology.2020.07.033

Seeber PA, Morrison T, Ortega A, East ML, Greenwood AD, Czirják GÁ (2020): Immune differences in captive and free-ranging zebras (Equus zebra and E. quagga). MAMM BIOL 100, 155–164. doi:10.1007/s42991-020-00006-0

Seltmann A, Schares G, Aschenborn OHK, Heinrich SK, Thalwitzer S, Wachter B*, Czirják GÁ* (2020): Species-specific differences in Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora caninum and Besnoitia besnoiti seroprevalence in Namibian wildlife. PARASITE VECTORS 13, 7. doi:10.1186/s13071-019-3871-3

Soilemetzidou S, de Bruin E, Franz M, Aschenborn OHK, Rimmelzwaan GF, van Beek R, Koopmans M, Greenwood AD*, Czirják GÁ* (2020): Diet may drive influenza A virus exposure in African mammals. J INFECT DIS 221, 175–182. doi:10.1093/infdis/jiz032

Soilemetzidou SE, de Bruin E, Eschke K, Azab W, Osterrieder N, Czirják GÁ, Buuveibaatar B, Kaczensky P, Koopmans M, Walzer C, Greenwood AD (2020): Bearing the brunt: Mongolian khulan (Equus hemionus hemionus) are exposed to multiple influenza A strains. VET MICROBIOL 242, 108605. doi:10.1016/j.vetmic.2020.108605

Trillmich F, Günther A, Jäckel M, Czirják GÁ (2020): Reproduction affects immune defenses in the guinea pig even under ad libitum food. PLOS ONE 15, e0230081. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0230081

Voigt CC, Fritze M, Lindecke O, Costantini D, Pētersons G, Czirják GÁ (2020): The immune response of bats differs between pre-migration and migration seasons. SCI REP 10, 17384. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-74473-3

Fritze M, Costantini D, Fickel J, Wehner D, Czirják GÁ*, Voigt CC* (2019): Immune response of hibernating European bats to a fungal challenge. BIOL OPEN 8, bio046078. doi:10.1242/bio.046078. (*These authors contributed equally).

Costantini D, Czirják GÁ, Bustamante P, Bumrungsri S, Voigt CC (2019): Impacts of land use on an insectivorous tropical bat: the importance of mercury, physio-immunology and trophic position. SCI TOTAL ENVIRON 671, 1077-1085. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.03.398.

Tian JD, Hofer H, Greenwood AD, Czirják GÁ (2015): Colonization history shaped the immunity of the western house mouse. OECOLOGIA 179, 679-686. doi:10.1007/s00442-015-3397-0.

Tian JD, Courtiol A, Schneeberger K, Greenwood AD, Czirják GÁ (2015): Circulating white blood cell counts in captive and wild rodents are influenced by body mass rather than testes mass, a correlate of mating promiscuity. FUNCT ECOL 29, 823-829. doi:10.1111/1365-2435.12394.

Pap PL, Vágási CI, Vincze O, Osváth G, Veres-Szászka J, Czirják GÁ (2015): Physiological pace-of-life: The link between constitutive immunity, developmental period, and metabolic rate in European birds. OECOLOGIA 177, 147-158. doi:10.1007/s00442-014-3108-2.