How can inflammatory responses be stimulated or inhibited? How do inflammasomes act as inflammatory switches at a molecular level? Prof. Dr. Matthias Geyer from the Institute of Structural Biology at University Hospital Bonn, the transdisciplinary research area “Life & Health” and the ImmunoSensation2 Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bonn is carrying out research into these and other questions. The scientist has now been awarded a coveted Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) for this project. The European Union will provide total funding of around 2.5 million euros over the next five years.  

Dr. Niklas Klümper, Resident at the Department of Urology and working group leader at the Institute of Experimental Oncology at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), was awarded the Research and Innovation Prize for Urological Oncology of the German Society of Urology e.V. in recognition of his outstanding scientific uro-oncological work.

The University of Bonn has come up with an innovative way to explore its campuses and the city it calls home, wherever in the world you happen to be: its new 360-degree tour, which is now available online. The interactive tour has been launched in time for the start of the new semester. Providing a bird’s-eye view and a wealth of information about the University, the tour aims to help prospective students get to know it better, make life easier for new starters and much more besides.

The UK-based magazine “Times Higher Education” (THE) has compiled its internationally renowned THE World University Ranking, which compares some 1,900 universities, for the past 20 years now. The University of Bonn came in 91st globally and 6th in Germany, putting it in the world’s top 100 universities. One noticeable aspect was that, compared to other institutions, a change to the methodology used in the rankings had virtually no impact on the University’s excellent results.  

When two, three or four apples are placed in front of us, we are able to recognize the number of apples very quickly. However, we need significantly more time if there are five or more apples and we often also guess the wrong number. In fact, the brain does actually register smaller numbers of things differently than larger ones. This has been demonstrated in a recent study by the University of Tübingen, University of Bonn and the University Hospital Bonn. The results were published in the magazine “Nature Human Behaviour.”   

The University Hospital Bonn welcomed a delegation from the University of St Andrews on 21stof September. The visit focused on existing joint projects and plans to expand the strategic partnership.

A great many criteria determine whether or not we get seriously ill from COVID-19. Besides our age and any previous or existing conditions, they also include genetic factors. Right from the start of the pandemic, the “COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative” has been investigating the links between genetic factors and severe COVID-19. The international research consortium has now discovered 28 new risk factors, pushing the total number of candidate genes identified by the initiative up to 51. Its findings have now been published in the prestigious journal “Nature.” 

Every year some 75,000 people die from bacterial blood poisoning, or sepsis, in Germany alone. Survivors of sepsis often struggle with secondary and concomitant conditions due to the resulting impairment of the immune system, the so called “Immunesuppression”. The International Center for Clinical Research (ICRC) at St. Anne's University Hospital (FNUSA) Brno (Czech Republic) has founded the research consortium “BEATSep”. HORIZON EUROPA is funding it with around 6,9 million euros over the next five years. The project aims to study the cellular and molecular mechanisms causing the immune suppression in sepsis survivors. Prof. Dr. Bernardo S. Franklin, Institute for Innate Immunity of the University Hospital Bonn and member of the ImmunoSensation2 Cluster of Excellence of the University of Bonn, is involved in the project. He receives about 800,000 euros from the EU funding.