In 2018 the GC-I³ has chosen the “Papers of the Year” for the third time. The jury picked out the best three papers among the vast number of submissions, all members of the GC-I³ were then called to pick out the order of the three winners in a secret poll.

The first price went to Dr. Bärbel Edelmann-Stephan (PostDoc in the Department of Hematology and Oncology) for her work „JAK2-V617F promotes venous thrombosis through β1/β2 integrin activation“. It was published in the “Journal of Clinical Investigation” and graced the front page of the October 2018 issue. The results of her studies show a new, innovative way of therapy for patients with chronic myeloproliferative Neoplasia (CMN). The most common complication with conventional treatment of CMN is thrombosis. Edelmann and coworkers have researched a therapy, where blocking antibodies against β1 und β2 Integrins are used in combination with conventional CMN medications, which reduces the risk of venous thrombosis and therefore negative side effects. Prof. Thomas Fischer accepted the prize in behalf of Dr. Edelmann-Stephan.

The second price was awarded to Jan Dudeck (Scientist at the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Immunology). His submitted paper „Engulfment of mast cell secretory granules on skin inflammation boosts dendritic cell migration and priming efficiency” was published in the “Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology”. Mast cells are peripheral immune cells that play an important role for immune reactions. More than 90 years ago it was discovered, that mast cells rapidly release inflammatory mediators from granules when they are activated. The inflammatory mediators are important for immune responses, but to date it is not certain, how the granules themselves affect the immune reaction after that. Dudeck et al. now present a method to stain mast cell granules in vivo and prove that they stay in the extracellular matrix for several days. Subsequently, dendritic cells (DCs) accumulate at the granules, take them up and transport them to the lymph nodes. Furthermore the granules influence the DCs after they have taken them up like the proverbial Trojan Horse and thereby boost antigen presentation and T cell responses.

The third price went to Dr. Katrin Vogel (PostDoc at the Department of Experimental Pediatrics and Neonatology) for her paper „Developmental induction of human T-cell responses against Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus“. She and her team researched the T cell response of newborns and infants against antigens of two different fungi. In the first years of life children present a T cell pool of 20 different TCR-Vβ-families. With rising age this pool shrinks exponentially. Also cytokine expression after contact with fungal antigens shows profound differences between children and adults. While children don’t show bias for an expression of IL-4, a tendency to IL-17 production is evident. Only T cells of newborns show an immediate and simultaneous expression of more than one transcription factor, when confronted with fungal antigens. Vogel et al. therefore prove that T cells of newborns are predetermined to react to fungal pathogens with high plasticity. Her results are valuable for understanding the interaction between pathogens and T cells and will contribute to developing new treatments.

Like last year the three winners are happy to accept their prizes of 1000, 500 and 250 Euro. The ceremonial awarding took place on the 9^th of May 2019 during the yearly general meeting of all GC-I³ members. Also in 2019 the GC-I³ will award a winner again, so all of its scientists are welcome to submit their “Paper of the Year 2019”.

In 2019, the Health Campus Immunology, Infectiology and Inflammation is offering prices for the “GC-I³ Paper of the Year”. Please submit your work before 15.08.2020. We are offering three prizes (rewarded with 1000 €, 500 € and 250 €) and we are looking forward to your submissions!

 The submitted works must fulfill the following criteria:
♦ The work must have been either published or officially accepted in 2019 (no later than 31.12.2019).
♦ The applicant must be the lead author (or a group of lead authors) for the publication, and the publication must have been primarily produced in a facility that is part of the GC-I³.
♦ The GC-I3 must be named in the affiliation.*

An independent commission will vote on the three best works. Then, all members of the GC-I³ can take part in a secret ballot to determine the order in which the prizes are awarded. The prizes will then be rewarded during the next general assembly of the GC-I³.

Please send your application by email to Dr. Beyrau no later than 15.08.2020. Required Documentation: a complete PDF of the publication and a short explanation why the publication is especially impactful (max. 300 words, in German if possible).

The prize-winning publications of 2018, 2017 and 2016 can be seen here!

*Example:
Author A¹
1 Institute of Molecular and Clinical Immunology, Health Campus Immunology, Infectiology and Inflammation, Otto-von-Guericke-University, Magdeburg, Germany

Under the leadership of two members of the Health Campus Immunology, Infectiology and Inflammation, Prof. Dr. Berend Isermann and Prof. Dr. Michael Naumann, funding for the new RTG 2408 was successfully obtained from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG).

RTGs are used by the DFG to strengthen scientific development. This means that, starting in October 2018, 18 new positions will be open for young scientists, who will have the chance to complete a PhD in a structured research and qualification program at a high level. This will strengthen fundamental research as well as the development of Clinician Scientists.  Because ten of the new positions are for PhDs in natural sciences, six remain for students who wish to do their doctorate in human medicine and two for young doctors who want to devote 12 months to research instead of clinical tasks. Prof. Isermann explained: “Through this combination of doctoral students in natural sciences and medicine, we hope to create numerous translational approaches, allowing the application of fundamental research in therapeutic applications in the clinic – directly improving the treatment of patients.”

The newly approved RTG 2408 is titled  „Maladaptive processes across physiological barriers in chronic diseases“. Physiological barriers are boundaries such as skin, mucous membranes or blood vessel walls. These barriers consist of highly specialized cells, so called endothelial and epithelial cells. For many chronic diseases, for example atherosclerosis and chronic kidney disease, the regulation and function of these barriers is disturbed. One example is the release of messenger substances, which attract inflammatory cells. The molecular changes responsible for these incorrectly managed reactions in the cells are largely unknown. Through a better understanding of these processes, researchers hope to develop new therapies for chronic diseases in the long term. With the help of modern cellular biology methods and technologies, including mass spectrometry, organoid cultures, microfluidics and high resolution microscopy, the doctoral students in RTG 2408 will investigate these processes. Thus, the young scientists of the RTG will apply state of the art technology and techniques to a highly relevant topic while developing an excellent start to their scientific careers.

The RTG 2408 will be associated with the Health Campus Immunology, Infectiology and Inflammation at the Otto-von-Guericke University (OvGU), which offers superb conditions for this research and extremely relevant expertise in the topic of inflammatory diseases. “The “Center of Dynamic Systems: Systems Engineering” (CDS) of the OvGU offers expertise with measurement systems for micro resonant sensors and innovative microfluidics technology”, explained Prof. Naumann (representative of the CDS).  In addition, the RTG will work in close cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institut für Werkstoff- und Strahltechnik (IWS) in Dresden, which supports the establishment of innovative microfluidics technology and organ-on-a-chip technologies.

In addition to the RTG 2408, the DFG also approved another Research Training Group for the medical faculty.  In the RTG 2413, neuroscientists will further research the processes connected with the aging of synapses.

Picture: Immunofluorescence staining of a human podocyte (Sanchita Ghosh)