On 1st July 2022, Prof. Dr. Hortense Slevogt started her new duties at the MHH. Here she will be taking over the management of clinical infectious diseases in the Department of Pulmonary and Infectious Diseases. Her working group, whom she has brought with her from Jena University Hospital, is currently setting up her laboratory at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig. „There we will have the excellent possibility to build a translational bridge between the scientific priorities of the Department of Pulmonary and Infectious Diseases and those of the Helmholtz Centre and thus also between the German Center for Lung Research (DZL) and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF). Both parties will thus profit from each other“, Prof. Slevogt summarizes the win-win situation. 

In order to welcome Prof. Slevogt not only into the MHH, but also into the medical community in the region, PD Dr. Jessica Rademacher, on behalf of BREATH and the CiiM (Link) invited colleagues from  clinics and practices in the surrounding area to an Expert Forum on „Fungi and Multiresistant Pathogens“. About 60 of those interested in infectiology took up the invitation and were delighted with the top-class panel of speakers. The first to speak, how could it be otherwise, was Prof. Dr. Tobias Welte as Director of the Department for Pulmonary and Infectious Diseases. In his talk, he summarized the most important innovations of the S3 Sepsis Guideline, to which he himself has contributed, and explained the highly controversially discussed use of various antibiotics with real-life examples. He concluded his presentation with a warm welcome to Prof. Slevogt: „I am really pleased that we have been able to inspire such an excellent expert to take up this position. With this extended focus, our Clinic is absolutely geared to the future“, said Prof. Welte. The second speaker of the evening was Prof. Dr. Oliver Cornely, Director of the European Confederation of Medical Mycology (ECMM) at the University of Cologne, who came especially from Cologne to welcome his longstanding scientific colleague to her new position. He provided the audience with tips and information on how to deal with the three most common fungal infections (Candida, Aspergillus and Mucor) in the practice. 

The highlight of the evening was the lecture by Prof. Slevogt. She drew the attention of the participants to an up to now little noticed subject of pulmonary infectiology and at the same time the focus of her research – the microbiome of the lungs. At the MHH, she would like to analyze and better understand the role of the commensals as an integral part of the lung microbiome. Commensals are microorganisms, which live symbiotically with the host without damaging it. The significance of the commensals for the susceptibility to infections of the respiratory tract and possible modulating influences on the pulmonary immune response and thus the course of pulmonary infections are at the forefront of the work of Prof. Slevogt’s team. „I hope that, with the research on the lung microbiome, we will be able to develop new diagnostic strategies and individualized therapies for people with respiratory infections“, that is Prof. Slevogt’s goal for her future research.

With Prof. Slevogt on our team, we will strengthen not only the cooperation between the MHH and the HZI, but also that between the DZL and the DZIF. We wish Prof. Slevogt and her team the very best of luck for their work at the MHH and at the HZI.     
 

Text: BREATH/AB

Photo: Wahluniversum - Jessica Wahl