Launched under the aegis of the Research Luxembourg COVID-19 Task Force on April 24th, “Predi-COVID ” is a cohort study promoted by the Luxembourg Institute of Health that aims to identify the key risk factors and biomarkers associated with COVID-19 severity and comprehend the long-term health consequences of the disease. Predi-COVID will contribute to a better understanding of the heterogeneity observed in disease severity and prognosis, ultimately enabling the accurate evaluation of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 and more personalised care recommendations. The protocol of the study was published on November 24th in the ‘British Medical Journal Open’, reinforcing the international visibility and success of this highly collaborative “Made in Luxembourg” project.

On November 18th, Clarivate™ released its annual “Highly Cited Researchers” report, recognising the pioneers in the fields of science and technology who produced multiple highly-cited papers ranking in the top 1% by citations in Web of Science™. Three Luxembourg researchers, including Dr Bohn, are featured in the 2020 edition of this prestigious international ranking.

In October 2020, the second phase of the Biomarkers in Food Allergy Diagnosis (APSIS) clinical trial was officially initiated under the coordination of the LIH Department of Infection and Immunity (DII) and in collaboration with the Centre Hospitalier du Luxembourg (CHL), the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) of the University of Luxembourg and the Integrated Biobank of Luxembourg (IBBL). This translational study aims to explore the correlation between the clinical and immunological characteristics of allergic patients with the functional features of the gut microbiome, ultimately supporting the development of novel translational strategies for the prevention of food allergies. Dr Annette Kuehn, Principal Investigator of the study and Group Leader of the Molecular and Translational Allergology unit of the LIH Department of Infection and Immunity (DII), explains the key aspects of the project.

Under the responsibility of the CEO, the Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO) provides the necessary leadership to ensure that LIH’s information technology applications, platforms and infrastructure are fully integrated to support its research and translational strategy.The CMIO will also lead the creation of an integrated big data platform that will allow Luxembourg’s research community and national/international stakeholders to access integrated clinical and research data, as well as health insurance and social security data. The successful candidate will make sure that information technology and the use of artificial intelligence are as solid as to support and enable transformational system change, in close cooperation with other main key stakeholders, such as health-related government bodies and hospitals.

he Laboratory Technician will work onsetting up Disease Modeling Screening Platform (DMSP) in Luxembourg.  Disease ModelingScreening platform is a core faciclity for translational research inLuxembourg. He/she will mainly work on early drugdiscovery project at Disease modeling Screening Platform (DMSP).

Launch of a study on the exposure to pollutants of children living in Luxembourg.

WEBINAR: Lecture series Cancer Research: "Targeting DNA repair: from basic biology to clinical trials"- Prof Thomas Helleday

In a new study led by the Immune Systems Biology research group of the LIH Department of Infection and Immunity, researchers adopted a holistic machine-learning approach to elucidate how the interactions between neuronal mitochondria can serve as a powerful tool to distinguish nerve cells from Parkinson’s patients from those belonging to healthy subjects, thereby providing new insights in the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of this neurodegenerative disorder. The results were published today in the renowned journal ‘Nature Partner Journals Systems Biology and Application’.

WEBINAR: Lecture series Cancer Research: "Mechanisms driving cell plasticity in the colorectal tumor microenvironment"- Prof Florian Greten