News
Klaus Faber Initiative for Progressive MS prolonged at the Institute of Clinical Neuroimmunology
March 2025 – Based on promising findings on the immune mechanisms that drive progression in multiple sclerosis (MS) the Klaus Faber foundation has prolonged their funding for a research initiative at the Institute of Clinical Neuroimmunology. Support by the foundation enables the Kerschensteiner labs in collaboration with the Single Cell Genomics Unit and our clinical collaboration partners to perform single cell transcriptomic analyses that compares CSF samples derived from individuals at the progressive stage of the disease with CSF samples derived from individuals at earlier stages of the disease process in MS. These analyses can reveal how immune cell populations and their molecular machinery shift as the disease moves towards progression.
Work of Lisa Gerdes and colleagues named by the Süddeutsche Zeitung as 2024 breakthrough
January 2025: The Süddeutsche Zeitung selects work by Lisa Gerdes and colleagues as a breakthrough discovery for 2024.
Arek Kendirli received the Multiple Sclerosis price of the Eva and Helmer Lehmann Foundation
November 2024 – Arek Kendirli (Kerschensteiner Lab) received the Multiple Sclerosis price of the Eva and Helmer Lehmann Foundation awarded by the German Neurological Society (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Neurologie e.V.) and the competence Network Multiple Sclerosis (Geschäftsstelle KKNMS e.V.) for his research on MS. Read more.
LMU researchers demonstrate that certain immune cells already play an important role in the early stages of multiple sclerosis
September 2024 – Here the Gerdes lab together with the Beltran lab analyzed CD8 T cells from the blood and cerebrospinal fluid of monozygotic twins, where one twin had MS and the other showed no signs or subclinical signs of neuroinflammation (SCNI). The Study demonstrates that CD8 T cells from twin with MS and cotwin with SCNI displayed proinflammatory immunological and metabolic features consistent with enhanced activation and migration. This provides insights about CD8 T cells in MS progression. Read more.
New Research Group on Defense and Demise of inflamed neurons funded
October 2024 – The German Research Foundation (DFG) has funded a new research group that investigates the cellular and molecular pathways that regulate the fate of neurons in the inflamed CNS. The new research group “NeuroFlame” is coordinated by our colleague Manuel Friese from Hamburg and brings together researchers from different German sites as well as Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. As part of the “NeuroFlame” group Florence Bareyre and Martin Kerschensteiner from our institute work together to unravel how neuron-derived signals regulate phagocyte actions in inflammatory and traumatic CNS conditions. Read more
Congrats Professor Bareyre!
September 2024 – Congratulations to our group leader Florence Bareyre on the occasion of her APL Professorship!
Graduation ceremony of Almir Aljovic and Emily Ullrich Gavilanes
July 2024 – Congratulations to Emily Ullrich Gavilanes (Kerschensteiner Lab) and Almir Aljovic (Bareyre Lab) on the occasion of their formal graduation ceremony at the Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences GSN-LMU.
International Neuroimmunology Symposium in honor of the 80th birthday of Hartmut Wekerle
June 2024 – On June the 7th the Institute of Clinical Neuroimmunology organized a symposium on “Milestones and Roadmaps of Neuroimmunology” at the Carl Friedrich von Siemens Stiftung that brough leading national and international neuroimmunologists to Munich. The Symposium was dedicated to Hartmut Wekerle on the occasion of his 80 th birthday and honored his ground-breaking contributions to neuroimmunology.
Grant from The Sumaira Foundation for Joachim Havla and Jonathan Gernert (NeuroVisionLab)
January 2024 – Joachim Havla and Jonathan A. Gernert (NeuroVisionLab) received a research grant from The Sumaira Foundation, as part of the 2023 Spark Grants. As part of the submitted project, a new biomarker is to be investigated in more detail using optical coherence tomography (OCT) in demyelinating diseases including NMOSD and MOGAD. Read more
Martin Kerschensteiner honored with Sobek Award for multiple sclerosis research
January 2024 – On December 15th, the Sobek Research Awards 2023 honored outstanding and pioneering achievements by scientists in the field of multiple sclerosis (MS) research at a ceremony at the State University of Music and the Performing Arts Stuttgart. This year, Europe's most highly endowed prize in MS research, worth 100,000 euros, was awarded in equal parts to Professor Martin Kerschensteiner, Head of the Institute of Clinical Neuroimmunology at LMU Munich, and Professor Thomas Korn, Head of the Institute for Experimental Neuroimmunology at the TU Munich. Read more
Press release:
https://www.en.bmc.med.uni-muenchen.de/news/events/231218_sobek/index.html
Collaborative Research Center on Checkpoints of CNS recovery will be funded for 4 more years
January 2024 – The DFG will extend the funding of the transregional CRC 274 “Checkpoints of central nervous system recovery” for its second funding period (2024-2027). In this research initiative Florence Bareyre and Martin Kerschensteiner from our institute work together with colleagues from the LMU Munich, the TU Munich (TUM) and the university medical center Göttingen (UMG) to identify the molecular decision points that govern immune, glial and neuronal recovery processes after CNS damage. The collaborative research center is coordinated by Alexander Flügel (UMG, speaker), Mikael Simons (TUM, co-speaker) and Martin Kerschensteiner (LMU, co-speaker). Read more
Outstanding Publication Award for the first genome wide CRISPR screen in a MS model
December 2023 – Arek Kendirli, Clara de la Rosa del Val and Katrin Lämmle received the Outstanding Publication Award 2023 for their study: A genome-wide in vivo CRISPR screen identifies essential regulators of T cell migration to the CNS in a multiple sclerosis model that was published in Nature Neuroscience. The award is made possible by the generous support of the Rosa Laura and Hartmut Wekerle foundation and recognizes a particular impactful work from our institute. The study was recognized by the award because of its methodological novelty and the importance of its results that provide a first comprehensive characterization of the essential genes and modules that regulate T cell infiltration to the CNS. Read more.
Naoto Kawakami appointed as a scientific member of the university of Lodz, Poland.
September 2023- Naoto Kawakami is appointed as a scientific member of the Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection at the university of Lodz, Poland.
Fritz Kagerer (Bareyre Lab) wins the poster prize at the Wings for Life Scientific Meeting 2023.
May 2023 – Fritz Kagerer (Bareyre Lab) wins the poster prize at the Wings for Life Scientific Meeting 2023 on the role of microglia cells in shaping new circuits following spinal cord injury, Congrats Fritz!
Klaus Faber Initiative for Progressive MS prolonged at the Institute of Clinical Neuroimmunology
April 2023 – The Klaus Faber foundation has prolonged their funding for a research initiative at the Institute of Clinical Neuroimmunology that aims to uncover disease driving mechanisms in progressive multiple sclerosis patients. Support by the foundation enables the Kerschensteiner labs in collaboration with the Single Cell Genomics Unit and our clinical collaboration partners at our institute to perform single cell transcriptomic analyses of CSF samples derived from progressive MS patients. The aim of our analyses is to uncover how CNS immune responses shift as the disease moves towards progression.
Winner of the picture of the year contest 2022
January 2023 – Winner of the picture of the year: Adinda Wens (AG Kerschensteiner) for the picture ‘Fierce Firing’
The image depicts “Neurons and their processes in the murine hippocampus”.
Anneli Peters and Martin Kerschensteiner join Collaborative Research Center TRR 152
August 2022 – The DFG will extend funding of the transregional CRC 152 “Maintenance of Body Homeostasis by Transient Receptor Potential Channel Modules” for its third funding period (until mid 2026). Anneli Peters and Martin Kerschensteiner from our institute have joined the initiative to study the role of TRP channels in the regulation of autoimmune CNS inflammation. In the CRC they will pursue this aim together with other researchers from Munich, Homburg, Heidelberg, Leipzig and Freiburg.
National MS society awards research grant to Anneli Peters and Lisa-Ann Gerdes
January 2022 – Our group leaders Anneli Peters and Lisa Ann Gerdes won a highly competitive research grant of 297.000 USD from the US-American National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS). The NMSS called for research projects investigating the earliest stages of MS with the ultimate goal to reduce the risk for developing MS. The focus of our funded project is the disease-triggering potential of the bacteria of the human gut, called microbiota, in prodromal MS.
To tackle this task we have assembled a multicomponent system to discover disease-triggering components of human intestinal microbiota. With great support in this project from the very beginning from our supervisors Prof. Wekerle and Prof. Hohlfeld this set-up previously showed enhanced disease induction in germ-free mice colonized with fecal microbiota from twins with established MS. We will now employ our unique cohort of 87 MS-discordant monozygotic twin pairs, to identify relevant changes in microbial composition and associated immune pathways. With Dr. Hongsup Yoon we have expanded our toolset to include colonization experiments with enteroscopically obtained material from more proximal gut segments including the ileum, which is suspected to be a ‘hot spot’ for the activation of autoreactive lymphocytes. Most importantly, healthy co-twins have the highest familial risk to develop MS. Indeed, using MRI and CSF diagnostics, we detected subclinical neuroinflammation (SCNI) in a subgroup of healthy twins. Thus, studying fecal, ileal and colonic material from these patients may allow insights into the early, prodromal phase of MS.
Klaus Faber Initiative for Progressive MS funded at the Institute of Clinical Neuroimmunology
November 2021 – The Klaus Faber foundation has funded a new research initiative at the Institute of Clinical Neuroimmunology that aims to uncover disease driving mechanisms in multiple sclerosis. An initial support of 100.000 Euro will be used to perform cell transcriptomic analyses of CSF samples derived from progressive MS patients. This will help us uncover how CNS immune responses shift as the disease moves towards progression.
Klaus Faber Stiftung finanziert eine Initiative zur Erforschung der progredienten Multiplen Sklerose am Institut für Klinische Neuroimmunologie
Der Stiftungszweck der seit 2014 tätigen gemeinnützigen Klaus Faber Stiftung ist die Förderung von Vorhaben der forschenden und/oder angewandten Medizin. In diesem Jahr fördert die Stiftung die KLAUS FABER INITIATIVE ZUR ERFORSCHUNG DER PROGREDIENTEN MULTIPLEN SKLEROSE am Institut für Klinische Neuroimmunologie. Diese Fördermaßnahme ist mit 100.000,- Euro dotiert und hat zum Ziel, die immunologischen Antreiber der Progression bei MS-Patienten zu identifizieren. Um dieses Ziel zu erreichen, sollen in einem ersten Schritt Zellen aus dem Nervenwasser von MS-Patienten isoliert werden und dann mit Hilfe der Einzelzellsequenzierung hochaufgelöst molekular untersucht werden. Mit dieser Förderung würdigt die Klaus Faber Stiftung die herausragende Forschung am Institut für Klinische Neuroimmunologie auf dem Gebiet der Multiplen Sklerose. Die Startveranstaltung zur Initiierung der Fördermaßnahme fand am 07.09.2021 im Logistikzentrum Fichtenau der Klaus Faber AG statt.
Die Klaus Faber Stiftung wurde von dem Unternehmer Klaus Faber zur Sicherstellung, Entwicklung und Fortführung seines Lebenswerkes, der Klaus Faber AG (www.faberkabel.de), ins Leben gerufen. Bislang wurden von der noch jungen Stiftung mit Stiftungsmitteln realisiert
- ein KLAUS FABER HYBRID-OP am Caritas Klinikum Saarbrücken, akademisches Lehrkrankenhaus der Universität des Saarlandes
- ein KLAUS FABER ZENTRUM FÜR HORNHAUTERKRANKUNGEN an der Augenklinik des Universitätsklinikums des Saarlandes, Homburg/Saar
- eine KLAUS FABER STIFTUNGSPROFESSUR FÜR BIOINFORMATIK am Helmholtz-Institut für Pharmazeutische Forschung Saarland (HIPS), Saarbrücken
- die Finanzierung eines KLAUS FABER FELLOW am Institut für Neuroimmunologie und Multiple-Sklerose-Forschung der Universitätsmedizin Göttingen (UMG)
Winner of the picture of the year contest 2021
November 2021 – Winner of the picture of the year: Anna Kolz (AG Peters) for the picture ‘Invading the cortex’
The image depicts “B cell follicles crowning the murine cortex”.
Attack on your brain: How autoantibodies against the myelin sheath protein MOG recognize their target
September 2021 – Das menschliche Immunsystem erzeugt eine enorme Vielfalt an Antikörpern, die erforderlich sind, um uns vor Krankheitserregern zu schützen. Dabei werden aber auch Fehler gemacht und es kommt zur Bildung von Autoantikörpern, die körpereigene Strukturen angreifen und zum Beispiel rheumatische Erkrankungen oder Entzündungen im Gehirn verursachen.
Outstanding Publication Award for single cell analysis of MS twins
Mai 2021 – Eduardo Beltrán, Lisa-Ann Gerdes and Julia Hansen received the Outstanding Publication Award 2021 for their study on Early adaptive immune activation detected in monozygotic twins with prodromal multiple sclerosis that was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigations. The outstanding publication award is made possible by the generous support of the Rosa Laura and Hartmut Wekerle foundation and recognizes a particularly impactful publication from our insitute. The study impressed the reviewers with the innovative technological approach, the elegant clinical design and the important and novel insights into the immunological alterations that characterize the earliest stages of multiple sclerosis. (Read More...)
Julie Fourneau (Bareyre Lab) awarded with a Wings for Life post-doctoral fellowship
April 2021 – Julie Fourneau from our institute and post-doctoral student in the laboratory of Florence Bareyre has been awarded a 2-years post-doctoral fellowship from the Wings for Life Foundation. During this time, Julie Fourneau will study how immune cells in the spinal cord control axonal wiring following spinal cord injury. Her work should reveal how immune cells contribute to the establishment of correct connectivity in the injured CNS (Read More...)
Franziska Thaler receives funding from the Advanced Clinician Scientist Module of the Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy)
February 2021 – Franziska Thaler from our institute will receive funding from the Advanced Clinician Scientist Module within the framework of the Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy) for her project: B-cell-mediated immune response in GAD-antibody associated neurological disorders“. For this study, Franziska Thaler and her team will focus on the characterization of B cells and autoreactive antibodies in different B-cell compartments on a single cell level. (Read More...)
Collaborative Research Center on Multiple Sclerosis will be funded for 4 more years
February 2021 – The DFG will extend the funding of the transregional CRC 128 „Multiple Sclerosis“ for its third funding period (until mid-2024). In this research initiative Anneli Peters, Edgar Meinl, Naoto Kawakami and Martin Kerschensteiner from our institute work together with colleagues from the TU Munich as well as the universities of Mainz and Münster to investigate initiating, effector and regulatory mechanisms in the disease process. (Read More...)
Valérie Van Steenbergen (Bareyre Lab) awarded with an Alexander von Humboldt post-doctoral fellowship
November 2020 – Valérie Van Steebergen, from our institute and post-doctoral student in the laboratory of Florence Bareyre has been awarded a 2-years post-doctoral fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. During this time, Valérie will study the role of neuronal activity in the shaping of new circuits following CNS injury. Her work should determine whether and how stimulation of activity in nerve cells can drive functional recovery following CNS injuries. (Read More...)
Martin Kerschensteiner elected to the National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina)
October 2020 – Martin Kerschensteiner, director of the Institute of Clinical Neuroimmunology, has been elected as a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. The Leopoldina orignated in 1652 and now has 1600 members from almost all branches of sience. The mission of the Leopoldina is to represent the German scientific community internationally and provide policy makers and the public with science-based evidence. Martin Kerschensteiner will join the „Sektion“ Neurosciences (Read More...)
Simone Mader (Meinl Lab) receives funding from Novartis to search for new CNS-reactive antibodies
October 2020 – Simone Mader from our institute will receive 40.000 Euro funding for her Oppenheim-Förderpreis application on the “Characterization of CNS-reactive antibodies in multiple sclerosis and related diseases” after internal validation by Novartis. For this study, Simone Mader will focus on patients with multiple sclerosis or similar diseases who present with optic neuritis. Brain-reactive antibodies and B cells will be investigated using novel methodological approaches, in order to identify target antigens. The identification of such autoantibodies is of high diagnostic and therapeutic relevance.
