GRK 3019:  Metabolic and Endocrine Drivers of Infection Susceptibility

• Subject Area: Medicine
• Term: since 2025
• Website: Homepage
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 522201563

Infectious and metabolic diseases are among the leading causes of death. Robust scientific evidence supports the presence of detrimental bidirectional interactions between infectious and metabolic diseases that have a major impact on metabolic or infectious disease development, severity, duration, response to treatment and consequently on quality of life and mortality. The overwhelming dimension of this problem has become evident in the current COVID-19 communicable pandemic, which in combination with the existing non-communicable pandemic of metabolic diseases has a significant impact on morbidity and mortality in the world population. It is beyond doubt that a new generation of scientists and physicians will have to tackle the challenge of these two closely interrelated health threats. Thus, we have designed an International Research Training Group (IRTG) for both MD and PhD students with an interdisciplinary team of leading scientists with complementary expertise on this topic to meet this current and future challenge. This IRTG aims to address two cornerstones of the harmful interaction between metabolic and infectious diseases. The first “Pathogens targeting the endocrine system” will investigate the systemic and tissue-specific effects of viral and bacterial infection on endocrine and metabolic function. The second “Endocrine and metabolic regulation of infection” will focus on how endocrine/metabolic mechanisms and their impairment may increase infection susceptibility and severity and whether endocrine/metabolic interventions can restore response to infection. TU Dresden, the University of Zürich and ETH have a long-standing track record on collaborations in endocrine diseases, metabolic diseases, immunology and infectious diseases. The PIs of our consortium together with an international team, have established a registry of data and autopsy samples from patients with infectious and metabolic diseases, and have presented important evidence of the crucial role of metabolic and endocrine links to COVID-19. We have now assembled a team of top-notch diabetologists, endocrinologists, virologists, immunologists, epidemiologists, pathologists and experts in cell biology that have been closely interacting and will be able to provide an excellent state-of-the-art training as established researchers and experienced teaching faculty for our IRTG students. With the transcampus between London and Dresden, we have an important track record of successful coordination of IRTGs which has been acknowledged by previous reputable DFG international review panels. We have therefore established a quality control process allowing to provide the same success and efficiency for this new initiative. Therefore, we are committed to providing an innovative and timely interdisciplinary training program for our students to ensure a better life for our patients and society.

• DFG Programme: International Research Training Groups
• International Connection: Switzerland
• Applicant Institution: Technische Universität Dresden
• IRTG-Partner Institution: ETH Zürich; Universität Zürich
• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Stefan R. Bornstein
• Participating Researchers: Privatdozentin Dr. Vasileia Ismini Alexaki; Professor Dr. Triantafyllos Chavakis; Professor Dr. Hani Harb; Dr. Waldemar Kanczkowski; Professor Dr. Andreas Linkermann; Professorin Dr. Barbara Ludwig; Professorin Geltrude Mingrone; Professor Dr. Peter Mirtschink; Professor Dr. Nikolaos Perakakis; Professor Michele Solimena; Dr. Charlotte Steenblock; Dr. Nicole Töpfner; Professor Dr. Sebastian Zeissig
• IRTG-Partner: Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Felix Beuschlein