Obschon es mittlerweile an vielen Orten Programme gibt, die dem Nachwuchs eine solche Ausbildung während der Facharztweiterbildung bieten, bleibt die Attraktivität für den Berufsweg als Clinician Scientist beschränkt, weil geeignete Anschlusspositionen nach Ablauf der Clinician Scientist-Programme fehlen.
Als einen Lösungsansatz schreibt die Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung als Modell jährlich drei Else Kröner Clinician Scientist Professuren aus.
Duchenne muscle dystrophy (DMD) is an immobilizing disease, which implies a shortened life expectation due to heart and breathing disorders. A complete lack of dystrophin, which usually connects the cytoskeleton to anchors in the cell wall, causes this disease.
Current antiretroviral therapy cannot cure HIV infection. This is based on the fact that, upon infection, HIV permanently integrates its genes (i.e. the proviral DNA) into the genome of the infected host cell. The aim of this project is to reverse infection by excision of the integrated proviral DNA from host cell genomes using the HIV-1-specific designer recombinase Brec1.
CCL25 (C-C motif chemokine ligand 25) was identified as a potent biological attractant for mesenchymal stromal cells at Charité – Universitätsmedizin, Berlin. Mesenchymal stromal cells are well known for their anti-inflammatory and tissue regenerative properties. However, production and transplantation of cells are expensive and require complex logistics. Application of chemokines for local recruitment of endogenous MSCs towards degenerated tissue could be a cost-effective alternative.
Zoonotic diseases are a source of repeating infections, that can be transferred from animals to humans. Avian Flu, well-known zoonotic disease, is caused by a highly pathogenic Influenza A virus, that can also infect human beings via direct contact.
Due to the report by the „Deutsche Herzstiftung“, nearly every fourth German dies of a heart disease. One of the leading causes of heart disease is myocardial infarction, which affects more than 200.000 people and which is the cause of death for around 50.000 patients every year. Often, heart failure develops after myocardial infarction, and transplantation is left as the last therapeutic option. Thus, an infarction represents not only a serious health issue but also a massive economic challenge for the health care system.
