03 / 2020
For the ninth time, the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI) and the Association for the Promotion of the Langen Science Prize have awarded the Young Scientist Prize. This year two young female scientists and one mal scientist at the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut were honoured for their outstanding research achievements. The first prize, endowed with € 1000, goes to Dr Saskia Kohlscheen (34), Dr Bingfu Jiang (35) receives the second prize endowed with € 600 and the third prize endowed with € 400 goes to Dr Simone Dudek (30).
From left to right: Prof. Johannes Löwer, Prof. Ute Modlich (in representation for Dr. Saskia Kohlscheen), Frieder Gebhardt, Dr. Bingfu Jiang, Walter Metzger, Dr. Simone Dudek, Prof. Klaus Cichutek.
Source: PEI
The winners received their certificates from Mayor Frieder Gebhardt on 5 February 2020. There were also personal congratulations from Professor Johannes Löwer, the chairman of the Association for the Promotion of the Langen Science Prize, Walter Metzger, the representative of the Sparkasse Langen-Seligenstadt, and PEI President Professor Klaus Cichutek. "We are very happy to be able to once again reward talented scientists for their successful commitment with the Junior Science Award. I would like to thank Sparkasse Langen for funding this prize and to give us the opportunity to present the city of Langen as a location for research and teaching,"
said Cichutek when the certificates were handed over.
The research at the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut and thus also the award-winning research work are directly related to the tasks of the PEI as a regulatory medicines agency. The institute also carries out dedicated research on all medicinal product groups under the responsibility of the PEI. "The consistent combination of drug testing and internationally competitive research is only possible due to the high level of expertise of our employees, which is essential for the complexity of biomedicines,"
explains Cichutek this tandem structure.
Dr Saskia Kohlscheen, the first author of the article "Endothelial protein C receptor supports hematopoietic stem cell engraftment and expansion in Mpl-deficient mice", published in Blood, found that a specific protein, the endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR), could have a beneficial effect on stem cell transplantation (blood stem cells, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation). This transfer of blood stem cells is an important therapy option for patients with disorders in blood formation. The stimulation of this target structure could be particularly useful for the maintenance of blood stem cells in connection with gene therapy.
Dr Bingfu Jiang is the first author of the publication "Formation of semi-enveloped particles as a unique feature of a hepatitis B virus PreS1 deletion mutant", published in Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics. In the publication, he describes a completely new form of the hepatitis B virus - the previously unknown form of semi-enveloped viral particles. The pathogen causes hepatitis B, one of the most common infectious diseases. The findings contribute significantly to a deeper understanding of the morphogenesis of HBV. In addition, the detailed characterisation is also important, since in the case of chronic HBV diseases, mutations often occur in the HBV area described by Jiang, which have a very significant meaning for the virus-associated disease process (pathogenesis).
Dr Simone Dudek, the first author of the publication "Human Fcy receptors compete for TGN1412 binding that determines the antibody’s effector function", published in the European Journal of Immunology, questions her research with a postulate from immunology. Until now, it was assumed that the strength of the interaction between a certain section of a monoclonal antibody (Fc part) with its receptor decides the extent of a certain effect, but the current results indicate that this is apparently not always true. The focus of this work is the monoclonal antibody TGN1412, which, in 2006, led to a life-threatening situation for the study participants in the clinical trial.
Updated: 05.02.2020
