Regulation of Inflammation in Neurological, Autoimmune and Infectious Diseases “RINAI”

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Nina Babel
• Subject Area: Experimental and Theoretical Network Neuroscience ; Immunology ; Clinical Immunology and Allergology ; Clinical Infectiology and Tropical Medicine ; Clinical Neurology; Neurosurgery and Neuroradiology ; Molecular and Cellular Neurology and Neuropathology
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 493936734

Due to several structural and organizational limitations in university hospitals, the number of scientifically active physicians has fallen drastically in the last decade and the current demand has even further increased. To counteract this negative development, the faculty of RUB has established a career path for young talented scientists enabling a continuous and sustainable career as well as personal development from clinical doctorate or young clinician scientists. The planned CS program RINAI perfectly fits to the already initiated career support structures, enabling further profound development and thematic specialization. Building upon a long-standing research tradition and scientific expertise of the RUB, one of the major topics of the CS RINAI is neuroscience. The Neurology departments of RUB with their specialized centers for various neurological disorders including Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Parkinson, Chorea, Pain and Myositis, in combination with the Research Department Neuroscience with the integrated International Graduate School of Neuroscience provide an excellent basis for structured scientific education of the next generation clinician scientists. We will further build up two additional developing key topics of our faculty, namely the infectious diseases and chronic inflammation. Microbe-immune system interaction is a scientific and clinical area currently undergoing a rapid and substantial development at the faculty. The ongoing pandemic shows how crucial the availability of technological infrastructure and methodological as well as subject-specific expertise for a fast, precise, and efficient patient management is. By appointment of four new professorships in the area of infection and immunology, the Medical faculty further contributed to the sustainable clinical and scientific development. Translation of scientific, clinical, and educational know-how to the next generation science-dedicated clinicians - as planed in our CS program - is the next logic step for the continuous and sustainable development of neurological, chronic-inflammatory/autoimmune and infectious diseases at the RUB. Improving and complementing the already existing program, the planned clinician scientist program will be continued beyond the scheduled funding time through the funding ensured by the RUB faculty. Our CS program RINAI pursues therefore four main goals:I. Recruiting young talented physicians for ambitious research projects and sustainable academic career developmentII. Provide reliable and sustainable research conditions combined with learning of cutting-edge technologies in an attractive research environmentIII. Establishing scientific networks and synergies within clinical and scientific departments of RUB and improving translational research and early independenceIV. Consolidation and follow-up scientific activities and collaborative projects in neuroscience, autoimmunity/chronic inflammation and infections

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigators: Professor Dr. Michael Adamzik; Professor Dr. Ralf Gold; Professorin Dr. Denise Manahan-Vaughan; Professor Dr. Martin Tegenthoff; Professorin Dr. Konstanze Winklhofer