Dr. Johannes Steffen receives the Young Investigator Award of the Medical Faculty of Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg in the category Biomedical Basic Research, endowed with 5,000 euros, for research on the interaction between the nervous system and the body's own defense system.

Photo: Portrait Dr. rer. nat. Johannes Steffen, Photographer: Melitta Schubert/Universitätsmedizin Magdeburg

At the Institute of Inflammation and Neurodegeneration, headed by Prof. Dr. Ildiko R. Dunay, the young scientist is investigating how the immune defense of the brain functions and what impact the different immune cells have on the development and function of the brain. Recently, a innate immune cell type was identified that plays an important role in the initiation of inflammatory processes in the brain (Steffen et al. 2022). The next step is to further investigate the function of these cells in the brain to find out what influence they have on the development of the healthy brain and whether they also play a role in other diseases of the central nervous system.

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At this year's GC-I³ symposium, the three best papers by young researchers were once again awarded. The event, held in the Theoretical Lecture Hall of Pathology, was well-attended.

Two young scientists from the Institute of Inflammation and Neurodegeneration, Caio Figueiredo and Johannes Steffen, presented their work. Caio Figueiredo presented his paper "The neuropeptide PACAP alleviates T. gondii infection‑induced neuroinflammation and neuronal impairment" which was published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation, while Johannes Steffen presented "Type 1 innate lymphoid cells regulate the onset of Toxoplasma gondii-induced neuroinflammation" from Cell Reports. In his four-minute presentation, Johannes Steffen convinced the audience of his research and won the first prize for his publication. Afterwards, the audience and young scientists had the opportunity to socialize and ask questions about the presentations while enjoying coffee and cake.

 Photo: Portrait Dr. rer. nat. Johannes Steffen, Photographer: Dr. Henning Düsedau/Universitätsmedizin Magdeburg – Institute of Inflammation and Neurodegeneration