News — Medical Faculty

New way to prevent duodenal cancer¹

People with the hereditary disease familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) have a greatly increased risk of developing a malignant tumor of the duodenum. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the Cluster of Excellence ImmunoSensation2 at the University of Bonn have now discovered a mechanism in the local immune system that can drive the development of cancer. They see this as a promising new approach to preventing duodenal carcinoma in people with FAP. The results have now been published in the journal "Nature Communications".

Podcast: “Deep Down, I’m an Idealist”²

Professor Ilona Grunwald Kadow was appointed Vice Rector for Research and Career Development on August 1, 2024. In an interview, the neuroscientist talks about her experience of moving to within University management and what priorities she is keen to set during her term of office.

Invitation to the 2025 Universitätsfest³

The University of Bonn is cordially inviting all graduates to the Universitätsfest 2025! Taking place on the Hofgarten lawn on Saturday, July 5, the open-air event promises a truly festive atmosphere and program. Prior registration for this year’s event is obligatory and open until June 1.

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Deciphering the sequence of neuronal firing⁴

How does the brain retain a sequence of events in memory? Researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), the University of Bonn, the University Hospital Tübingen and the University of Tübingen investigated this question. Using a unique measurement technique with implanted electrodes in the human brain, they were able to test a widely accepted theory of memory processes for the first time. The response pattern of the nerve cells did not align with the theory, but could be explained by a new model. The results have now been published in the journal "Nature Neuroscience".

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Starting points for the control of protein synthesis⁵

The research field of "cellular IRESes" lay dormant for decades, as there was no uniform standard of reliable methods for the clear characterization of these starting points for the ribosome-mediated control of gene expression. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn, in collaboration with Stanford University in California (USA), have now developed a toolbox as a new gold standard for this field. They hope to discover strong IRES elements that are directly relevant for synthetic biology and for application in emerging mRNA therapeutics. The results of their work have been published in The EMBO Journal.

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Seven Subjects among the Top 100 Worldwide⁶

Higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) has published its international subject rankings for the year, in which 1,747 universities from around the world, including the University of Bonn, are compared based on various indicator criteria.

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Creating Personalized Cancer Treatments Using “Mini-Tumors” and a Digital Twin⁷

Funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), a collaborative project involving the University of Bonn, the company ESQlabs and the University Hospital Bonn is seeking to refine the therapy recommendations given to colon cancer patients. To this end, “ISPOT-K” is merging organoids taken from patients with the power of digital twin technology.

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Potential target for MS therapy discovered⁸

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system caused by the immune system. B cells, which are a type of white blood cell, play a role in the development of MS and are thus a target for therapies. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), the University of Bonn and the FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg identified the membrane protein MLC1 as a potential target antigen in MS. To do this, the team used a novel combination of modern techniques. The results of the work have now been published in the renowned journal “Neurology Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation”.

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