Wir überwinden Grenzen

280 students learned from scientists and doctors at the Center for Chronic Immunodeficiency at the University Medical Center Freiburg how the human immune system works and what happens when it fails / Lecture hall filled to capacity

On Friday, October 18, 2019, around 280 11th and 12th grade students from Freiburg and the surrounding area learned how the immune system works, how it is examined and what happens when it malfunctions in the large lecture hall at the Center for Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. Prof. Dr. Stephan Ehl, Medical Director of the Center for Chronic Immunodeficiency (CCI) at the Freiburg University Medical Center, and Prof. Dr. Bodo Grimbacher from the CCI explained this to them. Patient examples were used to show what life can be like for children and adults with an immunodeficiency. Immunodeficiencies are rare diseases and are often life-threatening. "We used an interactive voting system to ask the pupils questions during the presentations, which they could answer on their cell phones," says Prof. Grimbacher. "This was very well received by the students," he adds. Dr. Nina Chevalier from the Clinic for Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology spoke about autoimmune diseases such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and systemic sclerosis.

Infectiologist Dr. Susanne Usadel reported on how to protect oneself against the immunodeficiency disease AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Can AIDS be cured by targeted interventions in the genome? Molecular biologist Prof. Dr. Toni Cathomen, Director of the Institute for Transfusion Medicine and Gene Therapy and the CCI, explained to the students how the new HIV therapy with gene scissors is supposed to work. He is currently preparing Europe's first study with six HIV patients in Freiburg. The aim is to cure the patients of HIV permanently. "The pupils were very curious and asked lots of interesting questions," says Prof. Cathomen.

The school event has been organized annually by the CCI since 2012. More and more schools are taking up the educational offer and benefiting from the researchers' first-hand knowledge transfer to the pupils. This year's event set a record: 280 pupils filled the lecture hall to capacity.

PROimmun e.V., the association for the promotion of research into and treatment of immune diseases, provided catering for the pupils during the event.

About the CCI

The Center for Chronic Immunodeficiency (CCI) at the Freiburg University Medical Center is dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of immunodeficiencies and research into the immune system. The special feature of the CCI is that it brings together experts from the fields of immunology, infectious immunology, immunobiology, rheumatology, hematology, cell and gene therapy under one roof. From infants to the elderly, patients are treated in two specialized outpatient clinics - the paediatric and adult outpatient clinic. They suffer from congenital or acquired immunodeficiencies, frequent infections, unusual infections, unclear inflammations, autoimmune diseases or HIV diseases. Under the motto "Recognize - understand - treat immunodeficiency", the CCI helps people who suffer from rare and sometimes life-threatening disorders of the immune system. It has become the most important point of contact in Germany for patients with immune disorders.

Caption: Pupils learn from researchers at the University Medical Center Freiburg how the immune system works.
Copyright: University Medical Center Freiburg

Contact
Julia Andris
Public Relations Officer
Center for Chronic Immunodeficiency
University Medical Center Freiburg
Phone: 0761 270-77695
julia.andris@uniklinik-freiburg.de