With 20 international guests present on-site and 6 international guests connected online, the Symposium represents the highlight of the first funding period of the DFG-funded Collaborative Research Center TRR259. Approximately 100 TRR259 members and associated members, as well as guests, followed the lectures on-site, a further 40 people were connected online.
This 3rd International Symposium of the TRR259 provided an update on the latest research results of how the extracellular matrix is modulated in aortic diseases. Here renowned experts like Prof. Anders Wanhainen, Prof. Bernard M. van den Berg, Prof. Philip Tsao, Prof. Anand Ramamurthi, and Prof. Bart Loeys showed their research results.
Prof. Joost Sluijter and Prof. Rafael Kramann, Prof. Alessandra Moretti, Prof. Stefanie Dimmeler, and PD Dr. Marc Beyer, spoke about which cells play a role in the development of aortic diseases and how cells communicate with each other for example via vesicles.
Latest findings in relation to the interaction of metabolism and immunology were presented by Prof. Musa Mhlanga, Prof. Matthias Blüher, Prof. Terje Espevik, Prof. Mark Febbraio, Prof. Michael Roden, and Prof. Magnus Bäck.
The role of the immune system in aortic disease was discussed in a session with Prof. Niels Riksen, Prof. Dominik Wolf, Prof. Alma Zernecke-Madsen, Prof. Takashi Fujita, and Prof. Filip Swirski.
How the latest research results can be converted into therapies showed Prof. Lars Maegdefessel, and Prof. Artur Lichtenberg.
Also TRR259 members like Prof. Sebastian Zimmer, Prof. Gerhard Sengle, and Prof. Ulrich Flögel showed the progress of the TRR259 research groups.
During the poster session, the participants had the possibility to gain detailed insights into and to discuss the projects of the TRR259. In addition to some postdocs, the PhD students of the TRR259 presented their projects here. The poster committee evaluated all posters on their design, clarity of the presentation - both of the poster and also when talking to the presenter - and their scientific content.
Poster price winners:
1st poster price: Annkatrin Correns from the Center for Biochemistry II (University of cologne) - BMP and Wnt inhibitor Sclerostin (SOST) interacts with fibrillin microfibrils
2nd poster price: Alexander Brückner from the Institute of Physiology I (University of Bonn) - Heterogeneity of aortic endothelial cells in healthy C57BL/6 mice
3rd poster price: Christin Elster from the Division of Cardiology, Pulmonology and Vascular Medicine (University of Düsseldorf) - Identification of CD-40-expressing IFNICs in AAA
In order to give the guests an insight into German history, the participants of the symposium had the opportunity to take part in a guided tour of the House of the History of the Federal Republic of Germany. This museum is one of the most frequently visited museums in Germany: 7,000 exhibits, 4,000 square meters, over 120 hours of video and sound. A great opportunity to get to know German history from a completely new perspective.
There were 3 great days full of exciting insights into the latest research on the subject NEW MECHANISTIC INSIGHTS INTO AORTIC DISEASES. We hope that the symposium has been an event to remember and that we soon can invite to a 4th International Symposium