Research

We still do not know exactly what causes chronic inflammatory joint diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. A team at the Department of Medicine 3 has now chosen a new approach to gain a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms.

They form a protective sheath around nerve fibres and ensure that nerve impulses are transmitted rapidly: Schwann cells. Dr. Fröb and Prof. Wegner of the Institute of Biochemistry have been researching these cells for years now.

The international project PRECODE, coordinated by the Department of Surgery, focuses on establishing new models for treating pancreatic cancer in clinical settings. The project has received four million euros in funding from the EU.

Cells in the immune system known as phagocytes protect us against infections caused by various microorganisms and also help to ensure that damaged tissue is repaired.

Immune therapy is considered a milestone in the battle against metastasized malignant melanoma. However, these treatments do not work effectively for every patient. Members of the Faculty of Medicine conduct a study to develop new treatment methods in cooperation with external partners. The Stiftung Deutsche Krebshilfe is funding this study.

As the smallest living unit, a cell can survive alone, but not in a cluster. When the oldest known human being died at the age of 122, some cells in her body had reached the same age, others were replaced after just 60 hours. And yet they all behaved according to plan.

The Jung Foundation for Science and Research has awarded the young gastroenterologist Dr. S. Zundler from the Chair of Internal Medicine I the Ernst Jung Career Advancement Award for Medical Research 2019. He was been awarded the prize for his research project on the significance of intestinal tissue-resident memory T cells.

Infected tissue has a low concentration of oxygen. The body’s standard immune mechanisms, which rely on oxygen, can then only function to a limited extent. How does the immune system nevertheless manage to control bacteria under such conditions?

Dr. Adran Regensburger, a doctor in the Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, has received the ‘Young Investigator Award’ for his work in molecular imaging in children with muscular dystrophy. The jury particularly praised the innovatory value and method selected by Dr. Regensburger.

If a tumor is large enough to be seen using imaging techniques, then a cure is virtually impossible for particularly aggressive cancers. Many lives could be saved if we were able to detect cancer earlier. A research network searching for minute tumor markers in the bloodstream is now funded by BMBF with a total of 1.3 million euros.