Research
The AUGMENT research projects explore how environmental stressors - such as air pollution, diet, and heatwaves - affect human health and contribute to the development of diseases, both individually and in combination. By examining their impact on organ systems and their role in disease onset and progression, AUGMENT seeks to enhance our understanding of the environmental factors that influence health. Backed by our Faculty of 伟德国际_伟德国际1946$娱乐app游戏icine and closely linked to the 伟德国际_伟德国际1946$娱乐app游戏 Hospital Augsburg, with the support of national and international collaborators, our doctoral projects concentrate on specific exposures and reactomes, combining clinical and theoretical research approaches.
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Research Projects
Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Falk Buettner
Co -Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. med.? Martin Pichler, 伟德国际_伟德国际1946$娱乐app游戏ical 伟德国际_伟德国际1946$娱乐app游戏 of Graz, Austria
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Human lifestyle, particularly prolonged exposure to western-diet or physical inactivity can come along with overweight or type 2 diabetes which are major risk factors correlating to early-onset of cancer. This lifestyle will also affect the glycosylation of cellular proteins and/or lipids and thereby alter the cellular communication architecture.??
We ask, whether changes in the cancer glycome are the consequence or a precondition of malignant transformation and how this is influenced by lifestyle? We will apply sophisticated analytics (MS, xCGE-LIF) as well as cell and molecular biology (CRISPR-Cas9) to interrogate the effect of nutritional exposures on cancer glycosylation?in vitro?and?in situ.
Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. med. Nina Ditsch
Co -Principal Investigators: Dr. rer.nat. Claudia Hülpüsch, Nicole Pochert, Prof. Dr. rer.nat. Udo Jeschke ?
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Seroma formation is a common post-operative complication of breast cancer (BC) surgery. The mechanisms are unknown. Our pilot study found significantly higher T-helper cells, particularly Th2/Th17, in seroma fluid (Sf) and patient blood compared to healthy controls. Here we hypothesize that the interplay of the local microbiome and environmental exposures influences immune responses, contributing to seroma formation. We focus on the local microbiome and subgroup differences. A multicenter longitudinal study of 2,200 participants will investigate these factors. The goal is to prevent seroma formation and improve patient quality of life by reducing complications.
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Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. rer.nat. Volker Eulenburg
Co -Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. rer.nat. Matthias Schlesner
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In chronic pain?the?processing of enviromental stimuli is disturbed resulting in exaggerated pain responses.?Changes in??glycinergic neuron in the dorsal horn of spinal cord contribute to the development of chronic pain. Detailed information on their molecular properties is lacking. In this project, the molecular heterogeneity of this cell population will be investigated on basis of an available single cell transcriptome dataset, and a detailed morphological and functional characterization will be performed. This might foster our understanding how glycinergic neurons contribute to the processing of environmental sensory input and might provide the ?basis for future treatment approaches for chronic pain.
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Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. phil. nat. Marco Koch
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Satiety promoting POMC neurons are critical players in whole body energy metabolism. Cellular mechanisms underlying POMC neuronal functions thus provide mechanistic insights into individual processing and systemic integration of metabolic stressors, such as overnutrition or poor diets, which are responsible for more than 10 million deaths worldwide per year. We will shed light on the intracellular processes in POMC neurons by studying the plasticity of cell organelles, to identify novel players involved in processing and integration of individual diet-related metabolic stressors.
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Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. phil. Miriam Kunz
Co -Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. Dr. med. Michael Frühwald
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Pain remains a central unresolved problem in childhood cancer. With the present study we aim to investigate how exposure to cancer-treatment affects the pain response system of children with cancer, while also considering psychological distress as a potential mediator. Using a prospective, longitudinal design, experimental pain processing is assessed in children with cancer at the beginning, during and after cancer treatment and is compared to age- and gender-matched controls.?
Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. rer.nat. Anja Meissner
Co-Investigator: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Joao Duarte, Lund 伟德国际_伟德国际1946$娱乐app游戏, Lund, Sweden
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The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is crucial for brain homeostasis, but aging, cardiometabolic risk factors, and environmental stressors can accelerate its degeneration. This project explores molecular mechanisms of BBB degeneration, focusing on sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) signaling changes. Using in vivo models and advanced in vitro techniques, such as BBB spheroids and organotypic cultures, the research aims to uncover targetable mechanisms of BBB vulnerability, bridging gaps in our understanding of the interplay between aging, cardiometabolic risks, and environmental stressors.
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Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. rer.nat. Matthias Schlesner
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Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) sequencing enables the simultaneous analysis of genetic and epigenetic DNA features. We have previously shown that ONT sequencing can be used to classify and characterize tumor tissues (Patel et al., Acta Neuropathol 2022).?
We hypothesize that profiling of circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) using ONT sequencing enables tissue-of-origin analysis, tumor monitoring and analysis of methylation changes during tumor progression and under treatment. The aim of this computational project is to develop a workflow for non-invasive disease monitoring based on ONT sequencing of liquid biopsies, which will be applied to longitudinal plasma samples from tumor patients enrolled in the Augsburg Longitudinal Plasma Study (ALPS).
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Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. med. Rudolf Schubert
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Air pollution, e.g. by carbon monoxide (CO), is one of the most important risk factors for the global burden of disease. Vasodilating mechanisms possess plasticity during postnatal development rendering arteries sensitive to environmental factors. However, the mechanism(s) how the pollutant CO affects plasticity of vasodilation in newborns are unknown. Thus, the hypothesis will be tested that CO has a larger role in the regulation of arterial contractile function in newborn compared to adult animals, making newborn arteries more susceptible to CO exposure. The doctoral candidate will pursue the following goals and learn the corresponding methods: (i) Expression analysis of components of the CO signaling pathway by qPCR; (ii) Determination of the extent and mechanisms (PKG pathway, ion channels) of vasodilation induced by CO using myography and fluorimetry.
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Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. rer.nat. Kerstin Stemmer
Co -Principal Investigator: Senad Divanovic, PhD,? Cincinnati Children's Hospital 伟德国际_伟德国际1946$娱乐app游戏ical Center, USA
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Climate change poses a?significant health risk for?individuals with?impaired thermoregulatory capacity, such as type 2 diabetics, during?heat?waves. This?study, building upon an established?preclinical mouse model for heat exposure that demonstrates exacerbated inflammation?and metabolic?disorder after raising temperatures from 23°C to 30°C, aims?to?delineate the specific signaling pathways that drive?immuno-metabolic?perturbations?in?healthy, obese, and diabetic?mice exposed to?heat?stress.
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Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. med. Elias Wagner
Co -Principal Investigators: Prof. Dr. med. Alkomiet Hasan, Prof. Sinan Gül?ksüz , MD, PhD, Maastricht, Netherland/Yale, USA
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We aim to explore the role of the CNS metabolome in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SSDs), measured in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Our goal is to investigate weighted exposome scores for SSD (in collaboration with Sinan Gül?ksüz from Maastricht / Yale: https://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/gül?ksüz) and alterations in the CSF metabolome (untargeted) in first-episode and treatment-resistant SSDs in collaboration with Helmholtz Munich - Core Facility Metabolomics and Proteomics. With multivariate analyses, this project will elucidate the impact of the (biological and non-biological) exposome on disease trajectories and blood-CSF-barrier breakdown in SSDs.?
Principal Investigator: Prof. Dr. rer.nat. Peter Wieghofer
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The first goal of the project is to perform a comparative in-depth analysis of the myeloid cell landscape in the laser-induced model for choroidal neovascularization, mimicking certain aspects of age-related macular degeneration such as the new formation of vessels, and corresponding human tissue samples with novel state of the art methodologies. The second goal is the modulation of the myeloid cell subset response after intraocular injections of inhibiting substances by confocal microscopy and flow cytometry.?
