Bremen professor awarded ERC grant
Professor Ursula Mirastschijski, of the University of Bremen’s Center for Biomolecular Interactions at the Faculty of Biology/Chemistry, has been awarded a grant by the European Research Council (ERC) to develop a novel therapy against burn scars.
The therapy, which is intended to prevent the formation of scars from severe burns, uses a substance automatically produced in the lungs called lung surfactant. This substance coats the lung’s surface, preventing it from collapsing when we breathe out.
Mirastschijski and her team discovered that the substance also inhibits inflammation and has wound-healing properties, which led them to believe it may also work on skin burns.
This thought led to the SUMOWO (A Surface modulation of Wounds: heal by inhalants! Novel drug-based treatment for excessive scars and chronic wounds) project, which last year received an ERC Starting Grant of €1.3m. As of March 1, the ERC will extend its support for a further year with a €150,000 Proof of Concept Grant.
Mirastschijski will use the additional funding to carry out clinical tests at the hospital Klinikum Bremen-Mitte.
She is the third female professor from the Faculty of Biology/Chemistry to receive ERC funding, joining Katrin Mädler and Rita Groß-Hardt.
“This underscores the high level of molecular-biological research and sustainable gender mainstreaming practised at the University of Bremen,” says Mirastschijski.
