The ECARF Foundation, in cooperation with the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Dermatologischer Forschung (ADF), awards an annual prize for research in allergology. This year’s award-winning research provides new insights of great value to people with neurodermatitis and other skin conditions.
The award goes to an international cooperation paper published in the journal NATURE IMMUNOLOGY by Dr. Johannes Mayer, Department of Dermatology and Allergology, Philipps University Marburg. It is an experimental study on the regulation of inflammatory cells, so-called T helper cells in the skin, which play a role in allergies. In collaboration with the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research and international cooperation partners, Johannes Mayer was able to determine that an essential element in healthy inflammation-free skin is consistently constant levels of the cytokine IL-13. This cytokine is a messenger substance that has an important effect on the development of dendritic cells in the skin, which can control the behaviour of inflammatory cells. Dendritic cells influenced by IL-13 stimulated defence against parasites, but also induced stronger immune responses against allergens.
These research findings have a high practical value, as various drugs have now been approved that can intervene in the regulation of IL-13. The ECARF Foundation extends its warmest congratulations to the award winner!
Award winner, Dr Johannes Mayer, Department of Dermatology and Allergology, Philipps University Marburg:
“It means a lot to me to have received the Allergy Research Award from ECARF and the ADF. As an aspiring junior research group leader, I am extremely pleased that our research findings on the development of dendritic cells in healthy and diseased skin have been met with great interest by the scientific community, but also by doctors, patients, and the general public. I am convinced that basic allergy research will play a crucial role in identifying and treating diseases that are still not fully understood, and I look forward to exploring this further with my students, collaborators, and colleagues from around the world.”