CRC Transregio 221|Projects

The Integrated Research Training Group (IRTG) of the CRC/TR 221 supports the participating MDs and PhD students of the program by providing well-structured and interdisciplinary training and qualification modules. The program focusses on basic and translational science in the area of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and cell therapy, but covers all topics and technologies of current biomedical research. Through close supervision and mentoring programs the students are well supported for a successful graduation in an innovative research field.

The INF project represents the data infrastructure project. It focuses mainly on data   management and sustained storage of all publication relevant scientific data. We also support the individual projects with adequate software and expert knowledge during the entire data analysis process. Our long-term aim is that the increasing amount of research data generated by the numerous immunologists, physicians and other scientists at the TR 221 sites Regensburg, Erlangen and Würzburg ultimately help to find new ways and tools that make allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation a more safe and effective treatment procedure, particularly by reducing transplant complications and relapse rates in patients. The INF project is financed during the first funding period by funds from the free state of Bavaria.

GvHD diagnosis is still a challenge even for experienced transplant pathologists due to its variable clinical and histological manifestation and the still insufficient validity and reproducibility of diagnostic histopathological criteria. In this service project, expert (immuno-)histological evaluation of human and murine tissues is provided. Furthermore, a digital histology archive will be established that includes consensus reports generated in virtual microscopy conferences and that are linked to clinical data bases for the evaluation of transplant outcome, complications and prognostic histology biomarkers.

Due to the complexity of graft-versus-host (GvH) and graft-versus-leukemia (GvL) reactions their basic biology as well as novel intervention strategies can only be examined in adequate preclinical in vivo models. In addition to providing general support in all experimental and regulatory issues, the Z02 service project will generate valuable new genetically modified mouse strains for the consortium and provide an experimental platform permitting the investigation of GvHD in germ-free and gnotobiotic mice. We aim for highly informative, cross-validated, reproducible and predictive in vivo models at the three participating centers.

The central administrative project takes care of the administrative and organizational matters of the CRC/TR 221. It manages the funds that are primarily used for the (i) recruitment and early career support of excellent young postdocs, (ii) rotation („Gerok“) positions for clinical principal investigators and young MD scientists, (iii) gender equality measures, (iv) support of new projects that have the potential to advance the CRC/TR program, (v) establishment and maintenance of a central biomaterial repository, (vi) project-specific workshops and guest speaker seminars, (vii)  traveling, (viii) public relation work.