Skip to main content
Elvira Mass MagNet: Macrophage Niche Network Dynamics
© Brigitta Leber

News categories: Honors & Funding

The ‘choreographers’ of tissue development and function

The German Research Foundation (DFG) is setting up a new research group at the University of Bonn. ‘MagNet: Macrophage Niche Network Dynamics’ is dedicated to the systematic study of macrophages, specialised immune cells that play a central role in tissue development and function. The spokesperson of the research group is ImmunoSensation member Prof Dr Elvira Mass from the University of Bonn, supported by co-spokesperson Prof Dr Falk Nimmerjahn from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU).

Macrophages, are immune cells that can be found in every organ of the body. While research has so far focused on their role in connection with immune defence and inflammation, the new ‘MagNet’ research group is now looking at how macrophages act as ‘choreographers’ to control tissue development and function. This is because macrophages also significantly influence the development, regeneration and repair of tissues. However, systematic research into these fundamental functions has not yet been carried out. Using state-of-the-art methods such as single-cell analyses, imaging and computer-aided modelling, the team led by Prof. Elvira Mass from the LIMES Institute at the University of Bonn is investigating how macrophages interact with cells in their immediate environment - their so-called ‘niche network’ - and thereby ensure the functionality of organs. The scientists want to decipher both general and tissue-specific communication processes.

‘Detailed knowledge of how macrophages communicate with other cells and thereby ensure the functionality of organs could contribute in the long term to the development of new therapies for diseases in which tissue damage or dysfunction occurs,’ explains Prof Dr Elvira Mass, who is also spokesperson for the transdisciplinary research area “Life and Health”. These include chronic inflammation, autoimmune diseases and degenerative diseases.

Researchers from the fields of cell biology, developmental immunology and systems biology at ImmunoSensation2 at the University of Bonn, FAU, the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf and the University of Freiburg are involved in the MagNet research group

 

Contact

Prof. Elvira Mass

LIMES Institute

University of Bonn

mail: elvira.mass@uni-bonn.de

 

Related news

Reckzeh News

News categories: Honors & Funding

Creating Personalized Cancer Treatments

Bonn researchers aim to improve colon cancer treatment using 3D organoids and digital twins. Funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), a collaborative project involving the University of Bonn, the company ESQlabs and the University Hospital Bonn is seeking to refine the therapy recommendations given to colon cancer patients. To this end, “ISPOT-K” is merging organoids taken from patients with the power of digital twin technology.
View entry
Prof. Dr. Valentin Schäfer

News categories: Honors & Funding

Valentin Schäfer appointed to Specialized Ethics Committee

Prof. Valentin S. Schäfer, Head of the Section of Rheumatology at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and researcher at the University of Bonn, has been appointed to the newly created Specialized Ethics Committee for Special Procedures by State Secretary Dr. Thomas Steffen at the Federal Ministry of Health. The committee, which is based at the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM), will begin its work on July 1, 2025 and is responsible for the ethical evaluation of complex clinical trials.
View entry
Honorary Doctorate Sharon Lewin

News categories: Honors & Funding

Honorary Doctorate awarded to Sharon Lewin

The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Bonn has conferred an honorary doctorate on the illustrious researcher Professor Sharon Lewin. The Director of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics, Professor Lewin is also a Laureate Professor of Medicine at the University of Melbourne in Australia and collaborates with the University Hospital Bonn. She is being recognized for her exceptional research on the international stage and her groundbreaking work in the field of HIV research in particular.
View entry

Back to the news overview