The DFG is continuing funding for the SFB 1453 "NephGen", co-led by CIBSS member Prof. Dr. Anna Köttgen, and the Transregio 167 "NeuroMac", co-led by CIBSS member Prof. Dr. Marco Prinz. NephGen studies genetic mechanisms of kidney diseases, while NeuroMac explores immune cell interactions in the brain. Both projects will receive €12 million over four years, with €5 million of NeuroMac funding going to Freiburg.

"The renewed funding confirms the excellence of our research. Our scientists are making valuable contributions both in the investigation of kidney diseases and in research into the immune cells of the brain, which should find their way into clinical application in the long term," says Prof. Dr Lutz Hein, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Freiburg and member of the Board of the Freiburg Medical Center University Freiburg.

Kidney disease: Common but difficult to treat

Kidney disease is a major health problem worldwide, with around one in ten adults suffering from chronic kidney disease. In cases of kidney failure, dialysis or a donor organ are the only treatment options. There are also people with kidney cancer. "Over the past four years, we at NephGen have been successful in identifying new targets for kidney function and disease and gaining a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms. The next step is to advance the search for drug candidates that intervene in these mechanisms," said Prof. Dr. Anna Köttgen, spokesperson for the network and Director of the Institute of Genetic Epidemiology at the University Medical Center Freiburg and member of the CIBSS Cluster of Excellence. "Pharmacological agents that target structures with human genetic evidence are twice as successful in clinical development as others," explains Köttgen. NephGen is therefore exploring targets based on hereditary kidney diseases and testing them for their therapeutic potential. The company has already successfully established large patient and population studies, as well as molecular biology investigations and methods for analysing large amounts of data. In addition to the University of Freiburg and the University Medical Center Freiburg, the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) is also involved.

How phagocytes communicate in the brain: Transfer into clinical practice as a goal

Transregio 167 NeuroMac has already received two grants from the German Research Foundation. The researchers are investigating the interaction of immune cells, in particular macrophages, known as phagocytes, with smooth muscle cells of the cerebral arteries, nerve cells and other cellular players. In the third funding period, the members of NeuroMac want to better understand the communication between macrophages, the scavenger cells that make up the immune system of the human brain, and various other cell types in the brain. "The goal of our research network is to translate the knowledge gained about macrophages in the central nervous system into clinical practice," said the Transregio's co-spokesperson from Freiburg, Prof. Dr. Marco Prinz, Medical Director of the Institute of Neuropathology at the University Medical Center Freiburg and member of CIBSS Cluster of Excellence. "In order to do this, we need to better understand the basic mechanisms of macrophage cell biology in the healthy and diseased brain. In order to achieve this, we will work with lab-grown organoids and patient samples." In addition to the University of Freiburg and University Medical Center Freiburg and the Technical University of Munich, the research network also includes the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel.

CIBSS profile of Prof. Dr. Anna Köttgen

CIBSS profile of Prof. Dr. Marco Prinz

Original press release University Freiburg