Lichtenberg-Professuren / Lichtenberg Professorships

Bewilligungen / Grants 2011

 

Evaluation of cell specific inflammatory mechanisms in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis

Bewilligung: 01.12.2011  Laufzeit:  5 Jahre

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease and one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although progress has been made many features of this complex disease, especially spatiotemporal aspects of disease progression and cell-specific mechanisms, remain ill-defined. The professorship aims to investigate atherogenesis with focus on cells of the inflammatory response in atherosclerosis. Especially the impact of insufficiently characterized cell types affecting atherogenesis will be the focus of the project. In a first part the presence of inflammatory cells such as dendritic cells or platelets as well as macrophages serving as "reference cells" will be assessed systematically at different stages of the disease. Furthermore, the differential regulation of inflammatory molecules will be studied. Newly identified candidates as well as established participants will be evaluated with cell-specific in vivo approaches. The wire induced vessel injury model will be used as a second in vivo disease model, assessing for cell-specific effects on neointima formation. In addition, the molecular mechanisms mediating the cell-cell interactions between dendritic cells and platelets will be explored that could be relevant to atherosclerosis in vitro and potentially in vivo.

Universität Tübingen
Medizinische Fakultät
Professor Dr. Harald F. Langer
Geissweg 5
72076 Tübingen
Tel.: 07071 2984484
Fax: 07071 295749

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Animal navigation from behaviour and cognition to molecular mechanisms (continuation)

Bewilligung: 25.11.2011  Laufzeit:  3 Jahre

The professorship is focused on understanding the behavioural, molecular, physiological and cognitive mechanisms underlying migration and long-distance navigation. What mechanisms enable birds with a brain weighing less than a gram to circumnavigate the globe with a precision unobtainable by human navigators before the emergence of GPS satellites? How do young birds find the species specific wintering quarter on their own, even though they have never been there before? How does experience influence their spatiotemporal orientation strategies? What is the physiological basis for sensing the relevant cues? How do animals sense the Earth's magnetic field? How is navigational information processed in the brain? What genes are involved? To successfully answer these questions, a wide range of multidisciplinary approaches are needed. Therefore, neurobiology, neuroanatomy, molecular biology, mathematical modelling and simulations, physics and newly developed laboratory equipment in combination with behavioural experiments and analyses of field data will be used to achive a better understanding of mechanism enabling animals to navigate over thousands of kilometres.

Universität Oldenburg
Institut für Biologie und Umweltwissenschaften
Prof. Dr. Henrik Mouritsen
Ammerländer Heerstraße 114-118
26129 Oldenburg
Tel.: 0441 798 3081
Fax: 0441 798 3620

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Immunological memory against viruses (continuation)

Bewilligung: 10.10.2011  Laufzeit:  3 Jahre

Immunological memory, defined as faster and more vigorous immune responses of an antigen-primed organism, can protect the organism from diseases from which it has previously recovered. However, it also bears the risk to create immunopathology and autoimmunity. It is maintained by long-lived antibody-secreting plasma cells and memory B and T cells that differentiate from naïve precursor cells upon antigen exposure. During the initial activation, memory cells "learn" to support select types of immune responses and memorize this instruction in later immune challenges. Aim of this Lichtenberg professorship is a molecular understanding of the generation, maintenance and functional plasticity of immunological memory against pathogens and autoantigens. We address these questions in settings of acute and chronic inflammation and infections in mice and human beings. Thereby we aim to improve protective immunological memory and deactivate or reprogram pathogenic pro-inflammatory memory cells in a targeted manner to induce anti-inflammatory functional activities. We study the molecular factors that regulate the longevity of memory cells and control the stability or flexibility of their pro- and anti-inflammatory effector mechanisms. The functional capacities of memory cells - protective immunity or immunopathology and autoimmunity - are determined in vivo in acute and chronic infectious and inflammatory diseases.

Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Experimentelle Immunologie
Dt. Rheumaforschungszentrum (DRFZ)
Prof. Dr. Max Löhning
Charitéplatz 1
10117 Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 28460 760
Fax: +49 30 28460 773

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Circadian Clocks & Metabolism

Bewilligung: 24.08.2011  Laufzeit:  5 Jahre

The thematic scope covers the functional interaction between the circadian timing system and metabolic homeostasis, a topic at the border between physiology, endocrinology, and diabetology, relying heavily on mouse genetics, molecular biology, and life imaging techniques. A tight interaction between circadian and metabolic regulation has been described in both human and animal studies. Clock disruption severely affects metabolic homeostasis and promotes the development of obesity-associated disorders such as type II diabetes and the metabolic syndrome. So far, however, little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying this clock-metabolism crosstalk. The project examines the role of different circadian oscillators in the regulation of metabolic homeostasis in the context of mental and metabolic stress. First, in a conditional transgenic mouse model, the role of circadian rhythms in stress axis regulation in the metabolic response to repetitive stress will be analyzed. Second, using a gene-therapeutic approach, I will explore the impact of peripheral clock regulation on metabolic homeostasis and feeding behaviour. Third, by genetically deleting clock function in leptin-receptive neurons, I will examine the impact of circadian gating on the processing of peripheral metabolic feedback in the brain.

Universität zu Lübeck
Medizinische Fakultät
Dr. Henrik Oster
Ratzeburger Allee 160
23538 Lübeck

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