New Collaborative Research Center approved
CRC/TRR led by the Medical Center - University of Freiburg investigates the development, function and potential of immune cells in the brain / 4.5 million euros in funding from the German Research Foundation for the Freiburg site
The German Research Foundation (DFG) has approved a new proposal for a Collaborative Research Center (SFB)/Transregio (TRR) under the leadership of the Medical Center - University of Freiburg. "My congratulations and thanks go to our scientists who have made this success possible with their research achievements and commitment," said Prof. Dr. Hans-Jochen Schiewer, Rector of the University of Freiburg. The CRC/TRR 167 "Development, Function and Potential of Myeloid Cells in the Central Nervous System" (NeuroMac) is being funded with a total of around 10.9 million euros, of which around 4.5 million euros will go to Freiburg.
The CRC/TRR NeuroMac deals with special white blood cells in the central nervous system (CNS), so-called myeloid cells or macrophages, which form the immune system of the human brain. There is hardly a disease event in the CNS in which these cells are not involved. Various types of these cells are present in the brain, including sedentary cells as well as cells that have migrated due to disease. "It has only recently become clear that sedentary myeloid cells also play a central role in the development and maintenance of neuronal networks in the healthy brain," said CRC spokesperson Prof. Dr. Marco Prinz, Medical Director of the Institute of Neuropathology at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg. "Disorders of these highly complex processes are associated with many diseases and are only partially understood so far."
The long-term goal of the CRC/TRR is to gain new insights into the origin and function of these specific immune cells of the brain. In this way, the researchers hope to create the basis for improving the treatment of brain diseases such as Alzheimer's, stroke or multiple sclerosis as well as psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia, autism or depression. In addition to the University of Freiburg and the Medical Center - University of Freiburg, the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, are also involved in the project.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Marco Prinz
Institute of Neuropathology
Uniklinik Freiburg
Phone: 0761 270-51050
marco.prinz@uniklinik-freiburg.de
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