Das Klinikum

Double cause for celebration:

Medical Faculty and University Hospital Tübingen receive two new Research Training Groups

The Medical Faculty of the University of Tübingen, together with the University Hospital, is pleased to announce two new Research Training Groups. The German Research Foundation (DFG) has approved the Research Training Groups "Women’s Mental Health Across the Reproductive Years" and "Non-Canonical G-Protein-Dependent Signaling Pathways: Mechanisms, Functions, Consequences" to promote young scientists. They will be funded with about 7 million euros (Mental Health of Women) and about 5.3 million euros (Non-Canonical G-Protein-Dependent Signaling Pathways) for a period of five years.

Hormonal transition and women's health

The physical, but also mental health of us humans often depends on hormonal influences. Women in particular are subject to massive fluctuations in hormone levels during their reproductive years and go through multiple hormonal transition phases. These have an impact on their cognitive and emotional abilities, brain plasticity and (mental) health. During these transitional phases, the risk for mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety disorders increases dramatically. The international research training group "Women’s Mental Health Across the Reproductive Years" has therefore set itself the task of better understanding connections between hormonal transition phases and the mental health of women across the reproductive years.

"Women's mental health encompasses many aspects that cannot be covered by a single discipline. That is why we are pursuing an approach that produces a qualification program consisting of several components, such as clinically relevant research, international exchange and the creation of synergies," explains spokesperson Prof. Dr. Birgit Derntl, research group leader at the University Hospital for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in Tübingen. The Research Training Group is only one of two international Research Training Groups out of a total of 13 newly funded collaborations. Together with Uppsala University, scientists from Tübingen and Sweden are researching the connections between hormonal transitional phases and mental health, and testing hypotheses focusing on the influence of sex hormones. "Our long-term perspective is to improve the prevention, detection and treatment of mental illness in women," adds Prof. Derntl.

Signaling pathways and drug development

Whereas today one in five Germans is still over 67 years of age, this proportion will increase to such an extent by 2060 that almost one-third of the total population will be of retirement age if the trend remains unchanged. This will be accompanied by an increase in so-called widespread diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, cancer and cardiovascular diseases, which already account for more than half of all causes of death in Germany. This makes research into and a better understanding of the biological processes that play a key role in connection with these diseases all the more important. Signaling pathways in our body at the cellular level, which control these processes and can be used therapeutically by pharmacological intervention, are crucial in this context. Of paramount importance are G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) on cells, which currently account for only 12 percent of all drug targets, but one in three drugs intervenes there. Nevertheless, their therapeutic potential is far from exhausted. Here, non-canonical G-protein-regulated signaling pathways play a special role, since they direct precisely the biological processes that are significant in the development of the diseases. The Research Training Group "Non-Canonical G-Protein-Dependent Signaling Pathways: Mechanisms, Functions, Consequences" aims to explore the remaining white spots in the mechanisms and functions of these signaling pathways.

"With our Research Training Group, we aim to close the gaps in our understanding of selected non-canonical signaling pathways in order to develop new promising therapeutic strategies for selective pharmacological interventions that represent important steps towards personalized medicine," explains spokesperson Prof. Dr. Dr. Nürnberg, Head of the Department of Pharmacology, Experimental Therapy and Toxicology at the University Hospital Tübingen. "Our doctoral students receive comprehensive interdisciplinary pharmacological training in a state-of-the-art research infrastructure to lead them to independence at an internationally competitive level and thus meet the urgently needed need for young pharmacologists," Prof. Nürnberg elaborates on the central training aspect.

About the Research Training Groups

To further strengthen scientists in early career phases, the DFG has established 13 new Research Training Groups. The new alliances will be funded for an initial period of five years starting this fall. Research Training Groups offer doctoral candidates the opportunity to complete a doctorate at a high professional level in a structured research and qualification program. The newly established alliances will receive funding totaling around 93 million euros.

Prof. Dr. Birgit Derntl © University Hospital Tübingen / Verena Müller

Prof. Dr. Dr. Bernd Nürnberg © Private