News — Medical Faculty

ENTRANCE regional conference on research cooperation with China at the University of Bonn¹

The 2025 ENTRANCE Regional Conference, held February 20-21 at the University of Bonn, attracted a host of experts from various universities and research organizations. The main topics were Chinese research, IT and data security, and medical research cooperation.

Creating Personalized Cancer Treatments Using “Mini-Tumors” and a Digital Twin²

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.

Potential target for MS therapy discovered³

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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The secret behind sharp vision⁴

Even when we think we are holding our gaze perfectly still, our eyes make tiny, involuntary movements. While these "fixational eye movements" might seem like they would blur our vision, new research reveals they actually help us see fine details more clearly. The results of the study have now been published in "PNAS".

© Grün, Bauer, Rüber, Schultz: Deep Learning Based Tractography With TractSeg in Patients With Hemispherotomy: Evaluation and Refinement, NeuroImage: Clinical. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2025.103738

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AI Enhances Brain Imaging⁵

How can nerve pathways in the brain be visualized to improve the planning of complex surgeries? A research team from the Lamarr Institute and the University of Bonn, in collaboration with the Translational Neuroimaging Group at the Departments of Neuroradiology and Epileptology at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), has investigated an AI-powered method that makes these reconstructions more precise. The study, recently published in NeuroImage: Clinical, could ultimately help make neurosurgical procedures safer.

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Saving energy is "in", even neurons are joining in⁶

Nerve cells have amazing strategies to save energy and still perform the most important of their tasks. Researchers from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn as well as the University Medical Center Göttingen found that the neuronal energy conservation program determines the location and number of messenger RNA (mRNA) and proteins, and differs depending on the length, longevity and other properties of the respective molecule. The work has now been published in the journal "Nature Communications".

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Faculty of Medicine Awards Honorary Doctorate to Sharon Lewin⁷

The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Bonn has conferred an honorary doctorate on the illustrious researcher Professor Sharon Lewin. The Director of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics, Professor Lewin is also a Laureate Professor of Medicine at the University of Melbourne in Australia and collaborates with the University Hospital Bonn. She is being recognized for her exceptional research on the international stage and her groundbreaking work in the field of HIV research in particular.

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Networking and exchange - the ACCENT program retreat⁸

The scholarship holders from the first two funding rounds of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and an associate from the ImmunoSensation² Cluster of Excellence came together to exchange ideas and further develop the joint program. The group was joined by a scholarship holder from the Würzburg INTERACT program, one of eight ACS locations across Germany. He is currently spending six months in Bonn and is enriching the exchange with new perspectives.

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