New joint project approved in SFB 1607
The SFB 1607 on age-related blinding eye diseases is the only Sonderforschungsbereich funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) in the field of ophthalmology in Germany and one of four SFBs at the Medical Faculty of the University of Cologne and Cologne University Hospital. Prof. Andrea Steinbicker, Director of the Department of Anesthesiology and Operative Intensive Care Medicine, and Prof. Verena Prokosch, Professor for Glaucoma Diseases at the Center for Ophthalmology at Cologne University Hospital, have now received approval from the DFG. The project will initially be funded with €300,000 for two years.
Glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness in Germany, is poorly understood in terms of its pathogenesis. In this new, innovative project, the two scientists are investigating the possible role of iron metabolism disorders and inflammation in the pathogenesis of glaucoma. Their research thus strengthens the SFB’s glaucoma research area and aims to open up new therapeutic possibilities through inflammation and iron metabolism modulation.
Prof. Steinbicker has long been successfully engaged in research into iron metabolism disorders, while Prof. Prokosch has been working scientifically on neurodegeneration and neuroregeneration in glaucoma for many years. Many of their studies have shown that iron regulation in the retina is impaired. Together, they will now drive the new project forward. “I am very pleased about this funding and look forward to researching the new focus together with Prof. Prokosch,” said Prof. Steinbicker at the SFB retreat in Siegburg in mid-January, where the project was discussed in detail and the new leadership duo was welcomed. Prof. Prokosch added: “If we improve glaucoma therapy and develop new neuroprotective therapies, we can prevent a great deal of blindness.”
Prof. Claus Cursiefen, Director of the Center for Ophthalmology at Cologne University Hospital and spokesperson for SFB 1607, emphasized on the occasion of the approval: “We are very pleased that this new project will strengthen glaucoma research at the SFB and that we have been able to recruit Prof. Steinbicker, a new, innovative clinician-scientist with a focus on iron metabolism and inflammation research. Together with the excellent glaucoma expertise of Prof. Prokosch as a clinician-scientist in this field, this creates an ideal symbiosis.”