Awards for Outstanding Young Scientists

This year’s Science and Research Award (Preis für Wissenschaft und Forschung), which is donated by the ROMIUS Stiftung every two years for an outstanding doctoral thesis, goes to Sophia Chen. The prize comes with €3,000, and the winner is selected by the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Freiburg. Chen was a PhD student in Prof. Dr. Robert Zeiser’s research group at the Department of Medicine I: Hematology, Oncology, and Stem-Cell Transplantation of the Medical Center of the University of Freiburg. For her doctoral thesis, Chen researched the mechanisms contributing to the failure of stem-cell transplantations, a procedure that is the only method of treatment offering a chance to cure many diseases of the haemopoietic system. When a patient receives stem cells from an unknown donor in a transplantation, this can cause the donor’s immune cells to recognize the patient's tissue as a foreign substance and attack it. This response is similar to when a patient’s body rejects an organ that has been transplanted, only it works in the opposite direction. This reaction is known as “graft versus host disease” (GvHD) and can cause potentially fatal complications in stem cell transplantations. For her thesis, Chen researched molecular and cellular mechanisms of acute GvHD in mouse models. She demonstrated that mice recipients with a deactivated gene for microRNA-155 had a much greater chance of survival compared to wildtype mice. If microRNA-155, which contributes to gene regulation in the body, is missing, various signalling paths change and the inflammatory reaction is reduced. Her thesis should contribute to the development of new therapeutic approaches for treating acute GvHD. By targeting and obstructing microRNA-155, it should be possible to avoid complications.

Studying the immune system and finding a new molecular teammate: That is what the doctoral thesis of Dr. Gina J. Fiala, an immunobiologist at the University of Freiburg, is about. Fiala discovered the protein Kidins220/ARMS in B cells, which are white blood cells. She also determined that this protein is decisive for the production of antibodies and the development of B cells. Fiala therefore received the GEFI Advancement Award (GEFI Förderpreis), which distinguishes outstanding doctoral theses on important topics in immunobiology. The award is bestowed by the Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Immunologie in Freiburg und zum Andenken an Georges Köhler e.V. (Association for the Promotion of Immunology in Freiburg and the Memory of Georges Köhler). The winner is selected by the board of trustees, which consists of biology professors. Fiala is now a post-doc researcher in the lab of Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schamel, who is a member of BIOSS, and Dr. Susana Minguet. She wrote her doctoral thesis as a PhD candidate in the Spemann Graduate School of Biology and Medicine (SGBM) at the University of Freiburg. That Kidins220/ARMS can be found in nerve cells and T cells in the immune system had already been determined by various teams of researchers, but it was not known until now that the protein can also be found in B cells. Fiala's team discovered that Kidins220/ARMS interacts with the B cell receptor and influences the signalling path from the receptor to the inside of the cell. Without Kidins220/ARMS, the receptor’s ability to send signals is limited, with the result that the B cells produce fewer antibodies and the immune system is weakened. These new findings could help to develop new medications for autoimmune diseases or other illnesses in the future. The findings of the researchers from the University of Freiburg were published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, with Fiala as the first author.

Dr. Verena Klämbt is the recipient of the Albrecht Fleckenstein Award for Young Scientists (Albrecht-Fleckenstein-Nachwuchsförderpreis). The prize, which is awarded annually, comes with €4,000 donated by Bayer Vital GmbH. With this award, the Faculty of Medicine honours an outstanding doctoral thesis or an original publication in a renowned scientific journal. Klämbt received this prize for young researchers for her PhD, which she completed in the research lab of Prof. Dr. Robert Zeiser. Like Chen, she also studied “graft versus host disease” (GvHD), specifically the function of the ATP receptor P2Y2 in the disease’s development. So-called inflammatory mediators like ATP and different immune cells play an important role in the development of disease. In order to determine the exact function of P2Y2, stem cells were transplanted into mice that were lacking this receptor either in all cells, or in only their haemopoietic system. Klämbt demonstrated that the development of GvHD was reduced in P2Y2-deficient recipient mice. This was accompanied by the mice’s longer survival time and a lower concentration of mediators in their bloodstream that cause an inflammatory reaction in the body. The mice with P2Y2 deficiency that had developed GvHD also had fewer inflammatory cells in their small intestine. Further experiments showed that certain cells in the immune system exhibit a reduced ability to migrate when the P2Y2 receptor is missing. Klämbt concluded that P2Y2 appears to influence the development of GvHD through the migration of immune cells. These findings could be used by scientists to develop strategies of prevention and treating GvHD in the future.

Dr. Martina Tholen received the Hans Spemann Award (Hans-Spemann-Preis) for her PhD thesis on the regulation of the protease Cathepsin L at the protein translation level. Clinical data indicates that Cathepsin L plays a decisive role in the progression of malignant tumours. In her doctoral thesis, Tholen researched the biogenesis, or development, and the function of isoforms of this protease, which can be found in the cellular core or in the cytosol, the fluid in the cell. Isoforms consist of the same molecules but have a different structure. As Tholen’s analysis of mice models demonstrates, the significance of these isoforms, which have only been described in experiments with cell cultures until now, is questionable. The expert in molecular medicine also deciphered a mechanism with which tumours maintain the activity of Cathepsin L and therefore enhance their own growth under stress. The Faculty of Biology of the University of Freiburg awards the Hans Spemann Award once a year for an outstanding diploma, master's or PhD thesis. The winner is selected by a board of trustees consisting of biology professors. The award comes with €500. Tholen completed her PhD in the research lab of the BIOSS member Prof. Dr. Thomas Reinheckel at the Institute of Molecular Medicine and Cell Research of the University of Freiburg. She is now a post-doc researcher at Stanford University in the US.