The Young Investigator Meeting on October 27-28 was organized by the DPLD junior scientists Alejandro Egea-Zorilla, Buse Karakuzulu, Gaidaa Dogheim, Gamze Gelincik, Lara Paulini, and Marleen Stremlau, with support from Franziska Hauptkorn, Sophie Hansen, and Andreas Günther.
The event kicked off on the afternoon of October 27 with social activities designed to help participants get to know each other. An interactive charades, Pictionary, and drawing session provided an informal icebreaker and encouraged networking among the attendees.
The keynote lecture was delivered by Junior Professor Ana Ivonne Vazquez-Armendariz (University of Bonn), who presented her research on “Vascularized Lung Organoids to Model Respiratory Diseases”.
The scientific program took place on October 28 and featured presentations from junior scientists across a broad range of research areas, including:
• Lung Development and Pediatric Lung Disease
• Epithelial Injury, Repair and Regeneration
• Disease Modelling and Novel Therapies
• Clinical Research and Patient Outcomes in ILD
• Immunity, Inflammation and Fibrosis, Fibroblasts
• Extracellular Matrix and Metabolic Drivers of Fibrosis
Thanks to a generous donation of €6,000 from Boehringer Ingelheim, poster prizes were awarded to outstanding contributions.
The first prize went to Lin Shen (CPC-M Munich) for the abstract “Redefining the Predictiveness of Human Fibrosis Models through Transcriptomic and Multimodal 3D Analysis.”
Second prize was awarded to Gaidaa Dogheim (TLRC Heidelberg) for “Interplay between Iron Deficiency and Hyperoxia: Consequences for Lung Development in a Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Model.”
Based on the review rankings, the third prize was shared among six recipients:
• Dharmesh Hirani (UGMLC Gießen) for “Hyperoxia-Induced Chromatin Remodeling Is Linked to Programming of Hematopoiesis and Antiviral Responses, Driving Persistent Peripheral Immune Dysregulation in BPD.”
• Lara-Jasmin Schröder (BREATH Hannover) for “Fibroblast-Epithelial Lipid Crosstalk Reshapes the Alveolar Lipidome in a Human Organoid Model of Pulmonary Fibrosis.”
• Jamal Nabhanizadeh (UGMLC Gießen) for “Spatial Mapping of Environmental Niches in Fibrosis-Associated Lung Cancer.”
• Gamze Cigdem Gelincik (UGMLC Gießen) for “Stem-Immune Interactions in the Lung: A Conversation Promoting Lung Health and Contributing to Tissue Regeneration.”
• Selma Dizdarevic (UGMLC Gießen) for “Lung Cancer Progression and Fibrosis Are Interconnected Through Distinct Fibrocyte States.”
• Aysan Ezaddoustdar (UGMLC Gießen) for “Epiregulin Promotes Expansion of Aberrant Airway Epithelial Cells, Driving Epithelial-Mesenchymal Miscommunication in Lung Fibrosis.”
