Awards for excellent PhD research
This year, the Munich University Association awards prizes for excellent research to six PhD students and two postdoctoral researchers who have completed their Habilitation. With Dr. Samira Parhizkar (Haass Lab) and Dr. Manuel Lasch (Deindl Lab) two PhD researchers of the BMC were honored.
Dr. Samira Parhizkar, former PhD student in the Haass Lab, is awarded the prize for the best doctoral dissertation for her PhD thesis entitled “Loss of TREM2 function increases amyloid seeding but reduces plaque-associated ApoE”.
It is estimated that some 1.6 million people in Germany alone suffer from various forms of dementia, primarily Alzheimer’s disease. Detailed knowledge of the molecular mechanisms that underlie the pathogenesis of the disorder is a prerequisite for the development of effective treatments that reduce the rate of progression of the disorder. In her doctoral dissertation, Samira Parhizkar focused on one aspect of Alzheimer‘s that has been largely neglected so far: What role do microglia – the brain’s immune cells – play in the development of the condition? Microglia are responsible for the detection, ingestion and destruction of damaged and dead cells, as well as extracellular material such as bacterial pathogens. Parhizkar’s work demonstrated that microglia have a protective function, as they recognize and degrade early forms of the pathological deposits known as plaques. In addition, they secrete a substance in the vicinity of newly seeded plaques, which inhibits their further growth and the release of toxic molecules that could otherwise damage nearby nerve cells. The findings may lead to the development of pharmacological agents that enhance the protective effects of immune cells in the brain. The paper has been published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
Dr. Samira Parhizkar is now a postdoctoral researcher at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (Missouri) where she continues to pursue her studies of the role of immune cells in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. med. Manuel Lasch, former PhD student in the Deindl Lab, receives a PhD Prize for his thesis entitled “From Increased Shear Stress to the Recruitment of Leucocytes: Mechanistic Insights into Arteriogenesis”.
Cardiovascular disorders, such as acute coronary syndrome, stroke or obstruction of peripheral arteries, were already among the most prevalent causes of death worldwide long before the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic. As a rule, treatment of patients with severe atherosclerosis or vascular occlusions involves interventions such as stent implantations and bypass operations. However, cases have also been reported in which a natural bypass develops in the vicinity of an occlusion. This process is referred to as arteriogenesis. How the capacity for arteriogenesis is activated and which signaling pathways stimulate the growth of such a natural bypass are long-standing questions in the field. In his doctoral thesis, Manuel Lasch was able to show that, following the occlusion of a vessel in response to an enhanced mechanical stimulus (increased shear stress in the small collateral vessels), the cells actively release RNAs. These extracellular RNAs can then recruit immune cells, which secrete growth factors that act on the obstructed vessel. This process can then lead to the formation of a natural bypass. The results of Lasch’s project, which have been published in the highly regarded journal Blood, could provide the basis for the development of new approaches to the treatment of atherosclerosis.
Dr. med. Manuel Lasch is an Assistant Physician at the LMU Medical Center.
Information on the further awardees can be found in the corresponding LMU press release.