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Bonn and Melbourne join forces in the fight against pandemic pathogens!
The Bonn-Cumming Program at the University of Bonn promotes innovative therapies against pandemic viruses through international research collaboration.
Bonn and Melbourne join forces in the fight against pandemic pathogens!
The Bonn-Cumming Host-Directed Pandemic Therapeutics Program (BCHT) was launched nine months ago. It is a cooperation between the University of Melbourne and the University of Bonn. The primary goal of this program is to develop innovative therapeutics that strengthen the immune system to more effectively combat viruses with pandemic potential.
The collaboration extends over more than 16,400 kilometers, with personal encounters, such as the current symposium on the Venusberg in Bonn, playing a central role in the progress of the partnership. The exchange during such events not only relates to strategic developments and challenges, but also to the planning of new projects for the next funding period.
Research approaches and exchange of experts
Professor Sharon Lewin from the University of Melbourne highlights the importance of direct exchange to achieve the program's objectives. Her colleague from Bonn, Professor Bernd Weber, also emphasizes the need for personal meetings to pool different expertise. A focus of the symposium was the exchange between three working groups:
- Die erste Gruppe arbeitet an Antikörper-Fragmenten von Alpakas zur Aktivierung des Immunsystems.
- Die zweite Gruppe konzentriert sich auf die Aktivierung des antiviralen Immunrezeptors RIG-I.
- Die dritte Gruppe untersucht Immunreaktionen auf Einzelzellebene, um neue Ziele für antivirale Medikamente zu identifizieren.
Everyone involved at the University of Bonn belongs to the Cluster of Excellence ImmunoSensation², which recently received a new seven-year funding period. This partnership is based on a long-term collaboration, led primarily by Prof. Sammy Bedoui and Prof. Christian Kurts. In addition, the universities of Bonn and Melbourne founded a joint doctoral program in 2016 to promote global immunological research.
Funding and objectives of the program
The BCHT program is funded by AUD$54 million and focuses on research into early immunity as the body's first line of defense against invading pathogens. The goal is to develop therapeutic approaches that activate the body's natural immune response. This is intended to accelerate the availability of pandemic therapeutics compared to traditional methods in order to respond more quickly to potential health crises.
In the broader context of pandemic and infection research, this is highlighted LMU Hospital in Munich the cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology. Work is being carried out there on the identification of pandemic pathogens, the development of new diagnostics and therapies, and the role of the immune system in infectious diseases.
The current investigations show that innovative research projects are necessary in order to detect future pandemics at an early stage and to develop suitable therapeutic measures. As part of these initiatives, it is expected that internationally operating institutions, such as the LMU Klinikum, will make a decisive contribution to progress in infection research and the development of therapeutic products.