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Since the first cases became known in December 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has kept us busy and pushed our healthcare system to its limits. The rapid establishment of effective and safe vaccines provided a way out of the pandemic. However, renal insufficiency and kidney transplant patients were not part of the initial approval studies, which is why little was initially known about the vaccine response of these vulnerable groups with proven increased COVID-19 mortality. In addition, the pandemic saw the rapid development of new, worrying virus variants that led to more severe courses due to mutations or were less easily recognized by the immune system due to their changes (immune escape variants). Together with Dr. Claudius Speer, various studies were therefore initiated to systematically investigate the vaccination response of our patients. The results help us to develop individual vaccination strategies in order to provide the best possible protection for our patient population. "Dr. Benning's research work is highly relevant to the care of our patients, as it has already triggered concrete improvements and any knowledge that we can use to prolong the lives of our patients and improve their quality of life is worthy of funding," praised Prof. Dr. Martin Zeier, Chief Physician at the Heidelberg Kidney Center. "We hope that the award will help Dr. Benning to continue her scientific commitment." Some of our results have already been published in renowned journals, and further projects to investigate and improve the vaccination response of these patients are already being carried out and planned.
The prize, endowed with 10,000 euros, supports research projects by young female scientists at the Heidelberg Medical Faculty and is awarded for particularly significant independent work. The founders, Professor Dr. Friedrich Reutner - Honorary Senator of Heidelberg University - and his wife Anita Reutner, particularly want to recognize achievements that address relevant research questions from the clinic.
"My goal is to enable our patients with renal insufficiency and kidney transplant patients to lead an almost normal life without restrictions, which is a major challenge, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic," says the award winner.
Contact
Dr. med. Louise Benning
Clinic for Nephrology
Heidelberg Kidney Center
Heidelberg University Hospital