Fight against "glass" bones

Dresden, 25 November 2023. In order to better help patients with frequent bone fractures, researchers from Dresden and Erlangen are looking for new approaches to chronic inflammatory diseases associated with bone loss and fractures as part of their „Dione“programme. The German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding the groundbreaking project,reports Dresden University Medicine.

Central importance for the Faculty of Medicine at TU Dresden

Dione research plays a central role for the Faculty of Medicine at TU Dresden, emphasises Dean Prof. Esther Troost. Deciphering the interactions between inflammation and bone makes a decisive contribution to translational medicine. The DFG funding enables innovative therapeutic approaches and positions the faculty as a pioneer in this field of research.

Research objective and approach

The project focuses on investigating how inflammation in various organ systems affects bone and leads to bone loss. The interdisciplinary research team is analysing how different cell types communicate with each other over long distances in model organisms and in humans. The cooperation between the working groups from different clinics and universities enables holistic research into inflammation-induced bone degeneration, according to the Dresden doctors. The aim is to pave the way for new therapeutic procedures and to develop innovative approaches for the treatment of inflammation-related bone diseases.

„Investigating the underlying mechanisms of inflammation-induced bone loss is only possible in an interdisciplinary setting,

emphasised the Dresden project spokesperson Professor Dr. Martina Rauner. from the „Bone Lab“ at TU Dresden.https://oiger.de/2023/11/25/kampf-gegen-glaeserne-knochen/189089

A total of 69 million euros for 6 special research projects

The Dione programme is one of six major research projects with Saxon participation for which the DFG has now approved a total of 69 million euros. These include:

• International Research Training Group at the University of Leipzig under the direction of Professor Dr Yfaat Weiss on the topic: »Belongings: Jüdische materielle Kultur in und jenseits von Europa im 20. Jahrhundert«, partner institutions: Leipzig University in close cooperation with the Hebrew University Jerusalem (Israel) and the Leibniz Institute for Jüdische History and Culture – Simon Dubnow in Leipzig

• Graduate programme at the University of Leipzig under the direction of Professor Dr Martin F. Quaas on the topic: »Ökonomie miteinander verbundene natürlicher Gemeinschaftsgüter: Atmosphäre and Biodiversität«, partners: University of Leipzig, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research Halle-Leipzig (UFZ), Institute for Tropospheric Research e.V. (TROPOS) and University of Hamburg

• Graduate college at the TU Dresden under the direction of Professor Dr.-Ing. Hartmut Fricke on the topic: »Technical-operational integration of highly automated aviation in conurbations«, partner institutions: TU Dresden in cooperation with the German Aerospace Centre (DLR)

• Special research area at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg (speaker university) and the TU Dresden under the direction of Professor Dr Aline Bozec, Ph.D., on the topic: „DIONE Inflammation-induced bone degeneration“, partner institutions: University of Ulm, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Leibniz-Institut für Analytische Wissenschaften -ISAS- e.V. Dortmund

• Collaborative research centre at the University of Leipzig (host university), the University of Bremen and the University of Cologne under the direction of Prof. Dr. Manfred Wendisch on the topic: „Arctic amplification: Climate-relevant atmospheric and surface processes and feedback mechanisms (AC)3«, in close cooperation with the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) and the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS)
.

• Special research area at the University of Leipzig under the direction of Professor Dr Annette G. Beck-Sickinger on the topic: „Structural dynamics of GPCR activation and signal transduction“, with the participation of scientists from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf and Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg.

The funding for these projects values the Saxon Science Minister Sebastian Gemkow (CDU) as proof of the excellent research in the Free State: „They are proof of how our universities succeed time and time again in conducting high-profile, nationally and internationally visible top-level research and outstanding work in the qualification of young scientists across disciplines and institutional boundaries.“

Article of the "Oiger" from 25 November 2023