12 / 2023
On Friday, 10 November, 2023, Dr Linda Schönborn was awarded the Langen Science Award, endowed with 15,000 euros, at the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut. The award was presented by Directorate Head Dr Lars-Christoph Nickel, Federal Ministry of Health (BMG). "The Langen Science Award honours researchers whose scientific commitment serves medical progress,"
said Dr Nickel. "We are pleased to recognise Dr Linda Schönborn, a scientist whose research has elucidated the underlying mechanism that in very rare cases has led to the occurrence of immune thrombosis after COVID-19 vaccination with adenovirus vector vaccines,"
added Professor Klaus Cichutek, President of the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedicines.
From left to right: Uwe Linder, Professor Jan Werner, Professor Klaus Cichutek, Dr Linda Schönborn, Dr Lars-Christoph Nickel, Professor Johannes Löwer.
The six-member award board of trustees, chaired by Professor Johannes Löwer, former President of the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, had selected four applications from amongst the submissions for the Langen Science Award and invited the researchers to a public lecture event at the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut in October 2023. The other members of the board of trustees are Professor Klaus Cichutek, President of the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut; Professor Jan Werner, Mayor of the City of Langen; Uwe Linder, Managing Director of Stadtwerke Langen (Langen Utility Company); Professor Hansjörg Schild, Director of the Institute of Immunology, University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz; and Professor Erhard Seifried, former Medical Director of the German Red Cross Blood Donation Service Baden-Württemberg/Hesse and Emeritus Professor for Internal Medicine, Haematology, and Transfusion Medicine at the Goethe University Frankfurt am Main.
Dr Linda Schönborn came out on top of the shortlist of the most promising prize candidates with her research on the role of platelet factor 4, antibodies, and platelets in very rare thrombotic complications after vaccinations with adenovirus vector vaccines against COVID-19.
The Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, together with the city of Langen, first established the Langen Science Award in 1993. The prize, endowed with 15,000 euros, has since been awarded every two years to successful researchers and is highly regarded. Professor Jan Werner, Mayor of the City of Langen, emphasised: "With the Langen Science Award, we as the City of Langen acknowledge the importance of science and promote biomedical research for the benefit of society."
Stadtwerke Langen has supported the Langen Science Award from the outset. Managing Director Linder: "I see this commitment as part of our tradition as a predominantly municipal company to take responsibility for the social, cultural and economic common good and to support social causes."
The Paul-Ehrlich-Institut has been located in Langen for about 30 years. As a medicines authority, the Federal Institute ensures a high standard of quality, safety, and efficacy of vaccines and biomedicines for humans and animals. The non-profit Association for the Promotion of the Langen Science Award was founded in 2003 with the aim of securing funding for the award through donations.
Who can more convincingly convey the excitement and importance of biomedical research, if not the researchers themselves? This year's award winner will also be presenting her research at the Gymnasium Langen and inspiring young people to pursue science.
COVID-19 vaccines prevented many serious cases and deaths during the pandemic. The COVID-19 vaccine products authorised in the EU and Germany have been shown to be safe and effective. Shortly after the start of the vaccination campaign, a very rare and previously unknown adverse reaction was discovered to occur after vaccination with the COVID-19 adenovirus vector vaccine Vaxzevria (COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca) and later after vaccination with Jcovden (COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen). The adverse reaction consisted of a thrombosis (blood clot) in an unusual part of the body and a simultaneous reduced platelet count (thrombocytopenia), which was referred to as thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS). At the suggestion of the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, the vaccination campaign in Germany was briefly interrupted, and the Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) limited their vaccination recommendation to persons with a lower risk for the adverse reaction. The professional medical societies issued treatment recommendations for doctors. Vaccinees were made aware in the vaccination information of certain symptoms for which immediate medical treatment should be sought. These measures further reduced the low risk of TTS.
Dr Linda Schönborn is a member of the working group headed by Professor Andreas Greinacher at the Institute for Transfusion Medicine at the University Medical Centre Greifswald. The group investigated the mechanisms underlying TTS at an early stage. They were the first to detect antibodies against the body's own protein, platelet factor 4 (anti-PF4 antibodies), and the subsequent pathophysiological mechanisms. These mechanisms are referred to as thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) and proceed similarly to heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT).
Dr Linda Schönborn conducted a study that involved long-term observations of the world's largest cohort of patients experiencing TTS after vaccination. Numerous important findings have emerged from that study that help to better understand the pathomechanism of anti-PF4 antibody-mediated thrombosis. The increased knowledge regarding the causes of this condition have led to significant improvements in therapy as well as the diagnostic and treatment options for affected patients. Dr Schönborn has shown with her work that, in addition to vaccinations, adenovirus infections can also trigger TTS with anti-PF4 antibodies.
Dr Linda Schönborn studied human medicine from 2012 to 2019 at the University Medical Centre Greifswald and received her doctorate in 2020 at the Institute of Immunology and Transfusion Medicine of the University Medical Centre Greifswald as a part of Professor Andreas Greinacher's research group. Since 2020, she has been working as an assistant resident physician at the Institute for Transfusion Medicine at the University Medical Centre Greifswald.
Schönborn L, Thiele T, Kaderali L, Greinacher A (2021). Decline in Pathogenic Antibodies over Time in VITT. N Engl J Med. 385(19):1815-1816
Schönborn L, Seck SE, Thiele T, Warkentin TE, Greinacher A (2022). SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Patients with a History of VITT. N Engl J Med. 387(1):88-90
Schönborn L, Thiele T, Kaderali L, Günther A, Hoffmann T, Edigna Seck S, Selleng K, Greinacher A (2022). Most anti-PF4 antibodies in vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia are transient. Blood 24;139(12):1903-1907
Schönborn L, Seck SE, Thiele T, Kaderalie L, Hoffmann T, Hlinka A, Lindhoff-Last E, Völker U, Selleng K, Buoninfante A, Cavaleri M, Greinacher A (2023). Long-term outcome in vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (2023). J Thromb Haemost. (9):2519-2527
Lindhoff-Last, E., Schönborn, L., Zaninetti, C., Warkentin, T. E., & Greinacher, A. (2023). Rescue Therapy in Chronic Prothrombotic Autoimmune Anti-PF4 Disorder. N Engl J Med, 389(14), 1339-1341.
Schönborn L, Esteban O, Wesche J, Dobosz P, Broto M, Puig SR, Fuhrmann J, Torres R, Serra J, Llevadot R, Palicio M, Wang JJ, Gordon TP, Lindhoff-Last E, Hoffmann T, Alberio L, Langer F, Boehme C, Biguzzi E, Grosse L, Endres M, Liman TG, Thiele T, Warkentin TE, Greinacher A (2023). Anti-PF4 immunothrombosis without proximate heparin or adenovirus vector vaccine exposure. Blood. Oct 26:blood.2023022136. doi: 10.1182/blood. 2023022136. Online ahead of print.
Updated: 10.11.2023
