Bad Homburg v. d. Höhe, 14. Januar 2025 – In 2024 Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung (EKFS) once again awarded funding within the scope of the Else Kröner Clinician Scientist Return-To-Work Grant program. Through individually deployable financial resources amounting to up to 400,000 euros in each case, the foundation supports particularly successful physicians who want to return to the clinic and research following a lengthier pause to attend to their families.
The aim of the grant is to facilitate reentry following parental leave, child care or caring for relatives and help those affected to progress with their promising careers. “With this funding program we not only want to help a group of persons at a disadavantage, but also alleviate what, for the German research and science system, is a dramatic deficit of excellently trained and outstanding scientists,” explains Prof. Dr. Michael Madeja, Chairman of the Management Board at EKFS.
Three projects were approved for grants in 2024, each with a term of 36 months. The funding can be utilized for a wide array of measures toward advancing research activity and career development: from staffing costs and material, non-financial resources to research stays elsewhere and on to opportunities for advanced training. Required for application submission was inter alia a complete interruption or distinct reduction of activity at the clinic and in research lasting at least one year along with a resumption of that work by July 1, 2025 at the latest.
PD Dr. Lisa K. Dannenberg, Dept. of Cardiology, Pneumology and Angiology, Düsseldorf University Hospital: Estrogen improves infarct size and cardiac remodeling following acute myocardial infarction in the case of women in postmenopause with type 2 diabetes mellitus
PD Dr. Dannenberg applied successfully for the Return-To-Work Grant in order to further develop her research regarding the association of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) and heart attacks in the case of women in postmenopause. Her professional career until now had shown her how important flexibility and motivation are to combine science, clinic and family – with three small children, a challenge she has to face daily. The grant funded by EKFS makes it possible for her to both carry out her project successfully and optimize the staff structure of her workgroup.
PD Dr. Dannenberg studies why T2D increases the size of infarctions in the case of women in post-menopause. A key role might be played by the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER), whose activity in the presence of T2D and during menopause is decreased, even though it has a protecive effect against heart attacks. The team around PD Dr. Dannenberg suspects that, in a capacity as GPER activator, estrogen could be a therapeutic target structure. The correlation between estrogen levels, GPER expression and infarct size is intended to be studied in murine analyses in a menopause model with T2D and infarction, as well as via a clinical trial on patients.
Dr. Roxanne Lofredi, Charité – University Hospital Berlin: Sensing in motion – The role of sensory systems in the cortex basal ganglia networks of patients with movement disorders
After graduating from her studies in medicine and psychology, Dr. Lofredi completed her professional training as neurologist and neuroscientist in Paris, Berlin, Marseille and Oxford (UK). She is currently pursuing advanced training as a specialist at the Department of Neurology at the Charité – University Hospital Berlin and establishing her own workgroup there. “The grant from EKFS enables me – even with an infant on hand – to face the twofold burden that clinic and research comprises with flexibility and a sense of security. At the same time, this funding line amplifies the visibility of this special challenge, which motivates me additionally to master it,” emphasizes Dr. Lofredi.
Parkinson’s disease affects millions of people worldwide and goes hand in hand with movement disorders that are receptive to treatment. On the other hand, the majority of those afflicted additionally suffer from cognitive disorders such as feelings of numbness or hallucinations, against which effective therapies have been lacking until now. Dr. Lofredi’s research project aims to precisely depict the underlying brain networks by means of large datasets consisting of brain imaging and neuronal activity measurement. This could enable the development of individually coordinated neurostimulation techniques.
Dr. Linda Schönborn, Institute of Immunology and Transfusion Medicine, University Medical Hospital Greifswald: Blood clots following viral infections – The role of antibodies against platelet factor 4
Dr. Schönborn applied for the Else Kröner Clinician Scientist Return-To-Work Grant program in order to be able to make use of a defined share of her working hours for her research project. “After the parental leave with my third child, this gives me the leeway to pick up where my previous research work had left off. The balancing act between clinical trainng, science and family is often a challenge, especially since my partner works as a physician, too. It makes me all the happier that the Return-To-Work Grant supports me in reconciling these three aspects with each other and to forge ahead with my scientific project.”
In her project Dr. Schönborn studies the formation of virus-induced blood clots triggered by misdirected antibodies, which then focus against platelet factor 4. These blood clots can be life-threatening and affect all age groups – from small children to the elderly. The project’s objective is to understand the mechanisms of this pathogenesis and track the afflicted systematically to improve diagnosis and therapy.
Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung (EKFS) – Advancing research. Helping people.
Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung is a non-profit foundation dedicated to the funding and advancement of medical research and the support of humanitarian projects. To date the foundation has funded around 2,600 projects. With an annual funding volume currently amounting to over 70 million euros it is the largest foundation in Germany that actively funds and supports medicine. You can find more information at: www.ekfs.de/en
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