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Multiple sclerosis (MS), the most common degenerative disease of the central nervous system in young adults, affects 2.9 million people worldwide and significantly impacts their quality of life. MS is an autoimmune disease leading to damage to myelin-producing cells and demyelinating lesions, which impair the function and integrity of neurons. Available immunomodulatory therapies can reduce the frequency of relapses but do not promote regeneration.

Immunophenotyping is an important method for diagnosing and monitoring diseases of the blood and the immune system. However, flow cytometry—the method predominantly used today—requires costly equipment, complex workflows, and specially trained personnel. This hinders standardized application and limits access to modern cell diagnostics, particularly outside of specialized medical centers.

The most common cause of death among extremely preterm infants is respiratory distress syndrome, which is currently treated with invasive mechanical ventilation. However, this form of ventilation is associated with various long-term lung complications.

The project investigates how adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) process sounds in everyday situations and how this is related to attention, distractibility, and sensory overload. Many affected individuals report that background noise, for example in offices, conversations, or public spaces, substantially interferes with their ability to concentrate. To date, however, such auditory processing alterations have predominantly been investigated under controlled laboratory conditions.

Reticular stromal cells form the structural framework of lymph nodes and are essential for their organization and function as central hubs of the immune system, where T and B cells are activated. Since B cells produce antibodies against self-structures in many autoimmune diseases, the scientists hypothesize that reticular stromal cells are involved in their pathogenesis. The project therefore investigates how established B-cell-targeted therapies influence the stromal system and whether novel approaches that directly target stromal cells can improve therapeutic efficacy.

The InhalPlus project addresses a major challenge in the care of preterm infants: During non-invasive respiratory support, a large proportion of inhaled medication is lost within the ventilation circuit when using conventional aerosol delivery systems. As a result, therapeutically effective drug doses often fail to reach the lungs.

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a frequent and clinically relevant side effect of cancer treatment. It can cause pain and sensory disturbances, substantially reduce quality of life and, in some cases, require a reduction in chemotherapy dose. It remains insufficiently understood which mechanisms amplify or chronify CIPN-related pain and how these mechanisms can inform individual risk profiles and targeted therapeutic approaches.

More than 400,000 joint replacements are performed in Germany each year. Implant-associated infections occur in up to 2 % of all procedures. In revision surgeries, this risk rises up to 40 %. The consequences are serious: prolonged hospital stays, loss of function, and, in the worst cases, amputation or sepsis. Existing coating solutions are usually only effective for a short time and offer no protection against late-onset infections.

Primary aldosteronism is the most common curable cause of hypertension. Current subtyping relies on invasive adrenal venous sampling, which is technically demanding and available only in specialized centers. This project aims to develop a novel, highly specific PET tracer targeting aldosterone synthase, a key enzyme in the disease’s pathophysiology, to enable non-invasive localization of aldosterone overproduction. The overall goal is to simplify the diagnostic pathway for primary aldosteronism and advance precision medicine for affected patients.