The two-day 2025 retreat of the BIOME cores on Cellular and Molecular Immunology, Infectious Diseases, and Tumour and Signalling was hosted in Essen last week. Invited keynote speakers were Dr. Chong Sun (DKFZ German Cancer Research Center) who spoke about identifying limiting factors in antitumor T cell responses, Prof. Andreas Baur (Universitätsklinikum Erlangen) who shared insights on the astonishing dimension of plasma extracellular vesicles, and Prof. Bruce Morgan (Universität des Saarlandes) who discussed the redox landscape, spanning from metabolite dynamics to cellular decision-making. A special after-dinner highlight on the first day was the meet-the-expert round with the guest speakers where they described their personal career paths and shared some words of advice with the young researchers for their professional futures based on their own experience. At the closing session of the event, best poster awards were presented to Hannah Breiter, Lea Otte, and Vaasudevan Sridhar, while the best doctoral talk prize was deservedly awarded to Georgia Antonopoulou. This year's retreat was excellently co-organised by Paula Busskamp Castro, Mohamed Elbeltagy, Michelle Elbert, and Vivienne Schneider.

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The Ischaemia, Reperfusion and Angiogenesis core's annual retreat keynote speaker this year was Prof. Dr. Matthias Gunzer from the University Hospital Essen, Institute for Experimental Immunology and Imaging, who presented a talk on "How unexpected findings can drive your research - if you let them." It was an excellent lecture, beginning with a general historical excursion into coincidences in science. Examples of such are the discovery of penicillin, radioactivity, cosmic background radiation, etc.. Prof. Gunzer then went on to give a fascinating account of how his research group discovered the role of neutrophil granulocytes in stroke. Here, too, it all began with a chance observation.

After a short break, the students gave short presentations on "disruptive, shocking, or life-changing" methods or findings. The presentations covered topics such as pacemakers, computed tomography, the advantages and disadvantages of AI in perinatal or neural medicine, and nanomaterials. All presentations were discussed in a lively and often controversial manner.

During a closing get-together session following these doctoral presentations, the retreat participants exchanged views on progress and challenges in their various scientific fields.

BIOME welcomes the new DFG-funded research training group 3043, AMTEC-PRO – Advanced Methods and Technologies for Proton Therapy. AMTEC-PRO aims at improving the standard of care in proton therapy through the use of advanced methods, novel treatment approaches and emerging technologies, and to train new generations of interdisciplinary researchers. Its central element is the West German Proton Therapy Center in Essen (WPE) – a leading institution for proton radiotherapy in Europe and one of the most advanced proton therapy centers in the world.

The foundation of the research programme is strong fundamental research in STEM disciplines, applied to medical challenges. The research projects operate at the interfaces of medicine, physics, and chemistry, integrating modern particle technology and machine learning. The research activities are aligned with key aspects of the proton therapy workflow, with the aim of achieving clinically relevant improvements.

Key research areas include the development of new instruments and methods to improve precision in proton therapy, the investigation of radiation effects to enhance tumour cell eradication and reduce side effects, as well as the study of Gd complexes and noble metal nanoparticle sensitizers to improve tumour control.

The qualification programme is designed to meet the needs and strengths of its participants. It supports young researchers in developing the skills required to become independent and responsible scientists. With the growing demand for highly qualified professionals in STEM and medicine, AMTEC-PRO’s interdisciplinary approach will provide its graduates with excellent career prospects

This year’s Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience core retreat joined forces with the 2025 Science Symposium of the Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioural Sciences (C-TNBS) on September 18th. During the retreat in the Deichmann Auditorium at the University Hospital Essen, members of the core presented their dissertation projects as a digital poster, followed by a discussion within the whole group. The creativity of all posters was very inspiring and entertaining, the presentations of the MD/PhD projects were clear and informative, sparking valuable peer-to-peer feedback.

After this intense exchange of scientific information, the C-TNBS Symposium kicked-off officially with a keynote lecture by Prof. Jörg Schulz, Clinic for Neurology, University Hospital RWTH Aachen on the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease, focusing on obstacles and opportunities. Over the day, additional lecture sessions followed, sharing the latest insights on a wide array of C-TNBS topics with the symposium’s participants, whereas during the coffee breaks, all BIOME candidates again presented their dissertation projects, this time in a printed format, to the audience. The retreat ended with the BIOME doctoral members joining the C-TNBS’s networking “get together“ and symposium dinner.

BIOME's Transplantation Medicine Core convened for an off-campus annual retreat in Essen last week with an interesting and diverse array of invited guest speakers: Prof. Dr. Arzu Oezcelik spoke about women in transplant surgery, and was followed by Dr. Johanna Reinold sharing insights on the clinician scientist in action and bridging clinical work and science, discussing challenges, opportunities and strategies, with Dr. Halime Kalkavan closing the session with an introduction to full spectrum flow cytometry. As is our graduate school's tradition, each doctoral member was also given the chance to present their research project and findings to the group enabling them to receive inspiring feedback from their peers and the experts present. The retreat was excellently organised by Prof. Dr. Benjamin Wilde. ​

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In May 2025, the BIOME core “Sex- and Gender-Sensitive Medicine” held its first retreat, bringing together doctoral researchers, members of the Institute of Sex- and Gender-Sensitive Medicine (IGSM), and the core’s scientific coordinators for a day of intensive scientific exchange and collaboration.

The retreat began with an interactive morning session, where the young researchers presented their research projects through concise five-minute pitches. To foster a deeper connection, participants also shared some personal details, including their hobbies and favorite sweets.

Dr. Helena Hartmann from the Department of Neurology kicked off the afternoon session by sharing her expertise on effective science communication. She emphasized the critical role of clear communication in bridging the gap between scientists and the broader public, as well as its importance in amplifying the general impact of one’s own scientific work.

The day concluded with an interactive group exercise, challenging participants to design (clinical) studies around two illustrative examples of sex- and gender-related health disparities. One group focused on evaluating gender differences in access to psychotherapy for depression, while the other explored variations in symptom presentation and diagnostic delays between women and men experiencing myocardial infarction. Both groups thoughtfully navigated potential biases, critical (clinical) study variables, and methodological challenges, reinforcing the importance of precise study design in sex- and gender-sensitive research.

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BIOME congratulates Prof. Dr. Ulf Dittmer on receiving the Order of Merit of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. This is an outstanding recognition of Prof. Dittmer's engagement and endeavours over the years. Established fifteen years ago, in 2010, Ulf Dittmer is our graduate school's founder and chair.

Laudatory words from NRW Minister-President Hendrik Wüst: "Professor Dr. Ulf Dittmer is President of the [Society of] German-speaking virologists, Director of the Institute of Virology at Essen University Hospital, and Co-Director of the West German Center for Infectious Diseases (WZI). Alongside the Charité, the WZI was the most important institution in Germany when it came to the question of how best to treat COVID patients. Prof. Dittmer established sound SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics at his institute at an early stage. He made a significant contribution to the implementation of a vaccination campaign for healthcare workers at the Essen site. At the time, he was also Vice President of the [Society of] German, Austrian, and Swiss virologists. Political consulting and communication, including within society, were part of his "daily business."

Prof. Dittmer is also especially committed to the University of Duisburg-Essen. He is their longest-serving senator. He heads the Graduate School of [Biomedical] Science at the University of Duisburg-Essen and has established programmes for young scientists. Promoting young researchers is particularly important to him.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, he has been responsible for providing medical care to Ukrainian refugees in Essen. Equally important is his strong commitment to establishing infection diagnostics in Ukraine itself. Many refugees and war-wounded individuals can now be treated there and tested for the increasing incidence of infectious diseases. This was previously virtually impossible. Within two years, Prof. Ulf Dittmer has succeeded in establishing a diagnostics programme that has since become a beacon of excellence in Ukraine.

Dear Professor Dittmer, you have already received numerous awards for your outstanding commitment. Today, you are being awarded the Order of Merit of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. Please wear it as a token of our collective appreciation for your efforts."

(Transcript source: Land NRW website)

BIOME congratulates Dr. Dr. Xiaoyan Wang on completing her double doctoral degree at the Medical Faculty of the University of Duisburg-Essen after finishing the graduate school's MD/PhD programme. This is truly a rare and brilliant achievement!

After studying medicine at the Capital Medical University in Beijing, China, Xiaoyan Wang's research journey began at PD Dr. Wibke Bayer's group at the Institute for Virology in March 2021, and in September 2023 she successfully defended her MD thesis on the analysis of the seroprevalence of binding and neutralizing antibodies against 39 human adenovirus types, earning the academic title Dr. med.. Xiaoyan then commenced her PhD research on the analysis of the immunogenicity of human adenovirus types, of long-term dynamics in human adenovirus seroprevalence, and of adeno-associated virus seroprevalence, completing her Dr. rer. nat. degree in March 2025. 

During her four-year MD/PhD studies, Xiaoyan has published three first-author and one joint first-author publications. She has been actively involved in scientific exchange within the virology community, presenting her research at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Virology for four consecutive years (2022–2025), as well as at the 2nd Sino-German Mobility Programme Annual Workshop held in Shanghai and Wuhan in June 2024.

Xiaoyan says, "These four years have been an incredibly enriching experience for me. I've learned so much - whether in terms of experimental techniques, scientific thinking, or presenting research outcomes. Now, upon obtaining my MD/PhD degree, I'm truly grateful for the support throughout this journey in the BIOME programme."

BIOME's MD/PhD programme especially equips young researchers to pursue a career at the frontier of ground-breaking medicine. Our first MD/PhD candidate, Dr. med. Dr. rer. nat. Ilseyar Akhmetzyanova, acquired her MD degree at our Medical Faculty in 2012 which was then crowned with a PhD in June 2015.