The Department of Neuroimmunology was the first Department to be fully established at the CBR in 1999 with Hans Lassmann being appointed Full Professor and Head of the Department. Since that time, research within the Department focuses on brain inflammation and inflammatory diseases of the nervous system. This involves basic research on immune surveillance of the nervous system and mechanisms of immune mediated tissue injury as well as applied research on inflammatory disorders of the nervous system, such as multiple sclerosis. During enormously productive 21 years, Hans Lassmann established a powerful research infrastructure and a space of expertise in the field of clinical and experimental neuroimmunology at the Department.

In 2020, Igor Adameyko, a developmental neurobiologist engaging into neuro-oncology and onco-immunology, succeeded Hans Lassmann as a new Head of the Department. Igor brought new research dimensions including the role of peripheral nerves in inflammation, the immune microenvironment of neuro-glial tumors and the role of enteric nervous system (and other neural crest-derived PNS components) in establishing gut-brain axis and transmitting microbiota-derived signals. Today, the research at the Department is more heterogeneous, and might include a wide spectrum of neurobiological and immunological aspects. The local infrastructure and technology also evolved, now including the abundant use of single cell technologies (10X Chromium and spatial transcriptomics systems) for probing immune and neuro-glial cell type heterogeneity. The engagement of computational scientists helped to modernize our research environment and to build a new space for creative ideas.