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Maximilian
Heeg

Assistant Investigator · MD

We study how immune responses are initiated, maintained, and regulated within tissues — leveraging spatial transcriptomics and single-cell sequencing to understand the molecular logic of tissue residency.

Explore researchPublications
Xenium spatial transcriptomics of mouse small intestine crypts, showing individual RNA molecules and immunofluorescence staining of tuft cells that sense parasitic infection
Spatial network visualization of tissue-resident memory CD8 T cells in mouse small intestine villi, showing cellular connectivity across the tissue architecture

Pain-sensing nerves regulate tuft cells during parasitic infection.

Research Focus

Tissue immunity, decoded

We use spatial transcriptomics, single-cell sequencing, and genetic perturbation to understand the cellular logic of tissue-resident immune responses — with therapeutic implications for infection, autoimmunity, and cancer.

Xenium image showing the boundary staining
Xenium image showing the cell outlines

Xenium experiment of a mouse small intestine. Immunofluorescence and cell outlines are shown.

A selection of current projects is highlighted below. For a full overview of ongoing and past work, visit the projects page.

Cells in the small intestine connected to their nearest neighbors.
Current

Spatial Orchestration of small intestinal tissue-resident T cells

Using spatial transcriptomics, we try to overcome limiations of single-cell sequencing and study T cells in intact tissues to understand which cell-cell interactions, gradients and cellular niches promote memory formation in barrier tissues.

View project
A UMAP of single cell RNA sequencing of TRM cells from various tissues.
Current

Transcriptional regulation of tissue-resident memory cells

How do tissue-resident memory cells adapt to unique tissue microenvironments? How do they sense environmental signals? How are they incorporated? Using mouse models of acute viral infection, combined with genetic perturbations and single-cell sequencing, we explore the transcriptional networks that govern the acclimatization of T cells to various barrier tissues.

View project
Scholarly output

Selected Publications

2026
Nature
Neuro-epithelial circuits promote sensory convergence and intestinal immunity.
W. Zhang, E. R. Emanuel, H. Yano, J. Uddin, S. Gaudino, Z. Xie, H. Ichise, Z. Wang, M. N. Cowan, M. Lyu, X. Hou, P. Zeng, E. Hu, V. Ribeiro de Godoy, A. Grier, N. Estep, J. R. Ishibashi, S. Anover-Sombke, P. J. Skene, T. Mayassi, R. J. Xavier, R. N. Germain, A.-M. Globig, M. Heeg, A. W. Goldrath, B. S. Kim, H. Hu, and D. Artis.
Spatial transcriptomicsNeuro­immune
DOI
2025
Nature
Tissue-resident memory CD8 T cell diversity is spatiotemporally imprinted.
M. Reina-Campos, A. Monell, A. Ferry, V. Luna, K. P. Cheung, G. Galletti, N. E. Scharping, K. K. Takehara, S. Quon, P. P. Challita, B. Boland, Y. H. Lin, W. H. Wong, C. S. Indralingam, H. Neadeau, S. Alarcón, G. W. Yeo, J. T. Chang, M. Heeg, and A. W. Goldrath.
Last AuthorSpatial transcriptomicsTissue Resident Memory
DOI
2023
Nature
Metabolic programs of T cell tissue residency empower tumour immunity.
M. Reina-Campos, M. Heeg, K. Kennewick, I. T. Mathews, G. Galletti, V. Luna, Q. Nguyen, H. Huang, J. J. Milner, K. H. Hu, A. Vichaidit, N. Santillano, B. S. Boland, J. T. Chang, M. Jain, S. Sharma, M. F. Krummel, H. Chi, S. J. Bensinger, and A. W. Goldrath.
Tissue Resident Memory
DOI
2023
Nature
The beta(1)-adrenergic receptor links sympathetic nerves to T cell exhaustion.
A.-M. Globig, S. Zhao, J. Roginsky, V. I. Maltez, J. Guiza, N. Avina-Ochoa, M. Heeg, F. Araujo Hoffmann, O. Chaudhary, J. Wang, G. Senturk, D. Chen, C. O'Connor, S. Pfaff, R. N. Germain, K. A. Schalper, B. Emu, and S. M. Kaech.
Neuro­immune
DOI
2022
Nat Immunol
Tissue-resident memory CD8(+) T cells possess unique transcriptional, epigenetic and functional adaptations to different tissue environments.
J. T. Crowl, M. Heeg, A. Ferry, J. J. Milner, K. D. Omilusik, C. Toma, Z. He, J. T. Chang, and A. W. Goldrath.
First AuthorTissue Resident Memory
DOI
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Background

About Maximilian

Research philosophy

Our research aims to understand how immune responses are initiated, maintained, and regulated within tissues. I am intrigued by how the immune system distinguishes self from foreign — and how this process sometimes fails in the context of autoimmune disease.

An unconventional path

This fascination led me to take an unconventional path as a medical doctor: starting with a basic research rotation during medical school, followed by a postdoctoral position at UCSD focusing on tissue residency after acute infection, and ultimately the establishment of my own research group at the Allen Institute for Immunology in Seattle.

Training & education

Supported by a scholarship from the German National Academic Foundation, Maximilian obtained his medical degree from the University of Freiburg, where he completed his residency in pediatrics focusing on immune disorders. His postdoctoral fellowship in Ananda Goldrath's lab at UCSD was supported by the German Research Foundation.