Dr. Niklas Klümper, resident at the Clinic for Urology and working group leader at the Institute for Experimental Oncology at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), was awarded the C. E. Alken Prize in recognition of his outstanding scientific uro-oncological work. The 30 -year-old is investigating which patients with metastatic bladder cancer benefit from a new oncological form of therapy, the antibody-drug conjugates, in order to be able to use these promising drugs efficiently. His new findings were published this December in the renowned oncology journal Clinical Cancer Research.

The Medical Dean's Office will not be staffed from 24 December 2022 to 1 January 2023. Accordingly, there will be no office hours and no telephone availability. From 02.01.2023, all work areas of the Dean's Office will be available again as usual. We wish you a peaceful time, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Nerve cells need a lot of energy and oxygen. They receive both through the blood. This is why nerve tissue is usually crisscrossed by a large number of blood vessels. But what prevents neurons and vascular cells from getting in each other's way as they grow? Researchers at the Universities of Heidelberg and Bonn, together with international partners, have identified a mechanism that takes care of this. The results have now appeared in the journal Neuron. 

People with chronic epilepsy often experience impaired memory. Researchers at the University of Bonn have now found a mechanism in mice that could explain these deficits. The German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) was also involved in the study. The results are published in the journal Brain, but a preliminary version is already available online.

Cleft lip and palate are among the most common congenital malformations, which are mainly due to genetic causes. It is not yet known exactly which genes are affected. A study led by the University of Bonn has now uncovered new correlations: New mutations near known genes such as SPRY1 could contribute to the increase in disease risk. There is also evidence that the transcription factor Musculin is causally involved. The results have now been published online in advance in the journal Human Genetics and Genomics Advances. The final version will follow soon.

Nerve cells can regulate their sensitivity to incoming signals autonomously. A new study led by the University of Bonn has now discovered a mechanism that does just that. The German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases and the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior were involved in the work. The results have now been published in the journal Cell Reports. 

Following a two-year enforced hiatus due to COVID-19, the Universitätsgesellschaft Bonn’s traditional winter soirée returned this year. Held in the main auditorium in the University Main Building, it included a ceremony at which the UGB prizes were presented in recognition of exceptional doctoral theses and student engagement.

For several years now, the CRISPR/Cas9 gene scissors have been causing a sensation in science and medicine. This new tool of molecular biology has its origins in an ancient bacterial immune system. It protects bacteria from attack by so-called phages, i. e. viruses that infect bacteria. Researchers from the Medical Faculty of the University of Bonn and the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), in cooperation with the partner University of St Andrews in Scotland and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Hamburg, have now discovered a new function of the gene scissors. The study was published in the scientific journal "Nature".