High blood pressure (HBP) or hypertension is often called the ‘‘silent killer’’, due to the lack of obvious symptoms indicating its presence. It is therefore important to be able to self-monitor one’s blood pressure and understand how to interpret the measurements. To this end, the Cardiovascular Research Unit (CVRU) of the LIH Department of Population Health (DoPH) recently published an informative brochure to help shed light into cardiovascular health.

The Tumor Immunotherapy and Microenvironment (TIME) research group of the LIH Department of Oncology (DONC) teamed up with Swedish Pharma company Sprint Bioscience to investigate the therapeutic benefit of small molecules inhibiting key pathways in cancer cells. The aim is to potentiate the effectiveness of immunotherapy and providing innovative and translational approaches to treating several cancers.

Researchers from the Department of Infection and Immunity of the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) brought forward the potential of high doses of a specific adjuvant molecule, namely CpG oligonucleotide, in successfully modulating the immune system’s allergic response to the main cat allergen Fel d 1, thereby inducing a tolerance-promoting reaction and reverting the main hallmarks of cat allergy. The researchers analysed the molecular mechanisms underlying this tolerance and proposed a pre-clinical allergen-specific immunotherapy approach to improve the treatment and control of this common type of allergy. The full study results were published very recently in the renowned international journal “Allergy”, the official journal of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) and one of the top two journals worldwide in the allergy field.

On January 27th, the Global Observatory for Physical Activity (GoPA!) released its second round of physical activity country profiles, presenting detailed information on physical activity research, policy and surveillance in 162 countries across the world. The Physical Activity, Sport and Health research group of the LIH Department of Population Health (DoPH) was the point of contact for the 2020 Country Card for Luxembourg, contributing with the data and information generated through past population studies in order to give an overview of the country’s performance in this domain.

On February 1st, the new i2TRON (Integrating immune strategies for Translational Research in Oncology and Neurology) research and training programme for PhD candidates officially started. Its overarching goal is to develop the ability of doctoral candidates to successfully translate fundamental research findings into innovative pre-clinical and clinical applications, thereby contributing to shaping the next generation of translational researchers and to developing advanced medicine and care.

The field of proteomics, i.e. the characterisation of the complete pool of proteins produced by a cell, is acquiring increasing importance in understanding the onset of various diseases and devising new personalised treatments. At LIH, this area is being explored by Prof Gunnar Dittmar and his team at the Proteomics of Cellular Signaling research group of the Quantitative Biology Unit (QBU). His work has resulted in the publication of his 100th scientific paper in the January 2021 issue of the prestigious international journal “Analytical Chemistry”. In this interview, Prof Dittmar discusses his expertise and research focus.

Understanding whether specific types of RNA molecules can provide insight into the development of cardiovascular diseases is “at the heart” of the research performed by the EU-funded CardioRNA project partners. Through a recently released educational video, the consortium explains its activities and goals.

Researchers from the LIH Department of Population Health (DoPH) recently investigated whether the concentration of micronutrients/secondary plant compounds, markers of oxidative stress/inflammation, as well as socioeconomic indicators can be associated with the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS). Their study, which was published in the January 2021 issue of the international journal Nutrients, is part of the FNR-funded CORE project “Micronutrients, Pollutants and Cardiometabolic Health in Luxembourg” (IMPACT.lu). IMPACT.lu builds on data from the European Health Examination Survey in Luxembourg (EHES-LUX), a population-based survey conducted between February 2013 and January 2015 in the Grand Duchy. In this interview, Dr. Maria Ruiz-Castell, Scientist within the Public Health Research Unit and leader of IMPACT-LUX and EHES-LUX, and Dr. Torsten Bohn, Group Leader of the Nutrition and Health Research Group, share their findings.

The year 2020, despite its challenges, brought about a string of successes for the institute and its staff. From the cross-departmental efforts in setting up and coordinating flagship COVID-19 projects, to the Department of Infection and Immunity’s (DII) advances in the fields of autoimmunity and pain relief, to the Department of Oncology’s (DONC) breakthroughs in cancer immunotherapy and characterisation, through to the Department of Population Health’s (DoPH) findings in terms of public health, this year has been one to remember.