The SFB project C5, led by PD Dr. med. Caroline Morbach and PD Dr. med. Niklas Beyersdorf, is dedicated to analysing the immune response in decompensated heart failure. Particularly autoantibodies against the heart muscle are in the focus of the project.
In her doctoral thesis, the young scientist therefore follows the course of the immune response in 286 hospitalised patients over a period of 18 months in a prospective study. In fact, she was not only able to determine a change in general, but also provide evidence that the body's own antibodies can be directed against five different structures that are found either only or also in heart muscle cells. The research group has already been able to show that the occurrence of autoantibodies against the heart muscle is associated with a poor prognosis for those affected.
Their poster was awarded the first prize at the EUREKA! annual international congress of life sciences which took place in Würzburg on 5 and 6 October.
EUREKA! is organised by the doctoral students of the Graduate School of Life Sciences (GSLS) and provides a platform where the latest findings and results from different areas of the life sciences are presented. Both already renowned and up-and-coming scientists can present their research work at this symposium.
