Dr. Heidi Noels and Dr. Yvonne Döring receive the W.H. Hauss Award from the DGAF
19-21 April 2018
Dr. Heidi Noels from the Institute for Molecular Cardiovascular Research at RWTH Aachen University together with Dr. Yvonne Döring from the Institute for Prophylaxis and Epidemiology of Circulatory Diseases at LMU Munich together received the DGAF W.H. Hauss Award 2018 from the German Society for Atherosclerosis Research (DGAF) during the 32nd Annual Meeting of the DGAF in Rauischholzhausen, Germany. They were awarded for their publication "Vascular CXCR4 Limits Atherosclerosis by Maintaining Arterial Integrity: Evidence From Mouse and Human Studies." (Circulation. 2017; 136: 388-403). In this work it could be shown that vascular CXCR4 has an atheroprotective function by maintaining the arterial integrity and preserving the endothelial barrier function. In addition, CXCR4 stabilizes a contractile smooth muscle cell phenotype. Targeted enhancement of these CXCR4-mediated protective functions could open up novel therapeutic options in the treatment of atherosclerosis.
The award was sponsored by a long-standing active member of the DGAF, Prof. Dr. Winfried März.
Project area Z
Administrative project
Robert Werner Mertens
MD student
University Hospital RWTH Aachen
Department of Internal Medicine
Project: The role of incretin hormone GLP-2 in septic cardiomyopathy
PI: Michael Lehrke
Robert Werner Mertens
MD student
University Hospital RWTH Aachen
Department of Internal Medicine
Project: The role of incretin hormone GLP-2 in septic cardiomyopathy
PI: Michael Lehrke
Consortium
Mechanisms of Cardiovascular Complications in Chronic Kidney Disease
PhD MD TRR219-associated students
Rogier Veltrop
PhD student – Marie Curie ITN CaReSyAn
University Hospital RWTH Aachen
Institute for Molecular Cardiovascular Research
Project: Effect of uremia on cardiac pathology
PI: Heidi Noels
The aim of this project is to gain deeper understanding of the direct effects of CKD on cardiomyocyte function, by investigating the effect of uremic toxins on cardiomyocytes, both in vitro and in vivo.
My project will reveal novel mediators negatively affecting cardiomyocyte function in CKD, enabling novel strategies to reduce cardiovascular risk in CKD patients.