Here you find an overview of news coverage since the launch of the SFB
Special research area in the field of metabolic diseases
Obesity, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and cancer are widespread diseases and a major challenge for the healthcare system. In the newly established special research area (SFB) "Lipid Hydrolysis" funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), the long-term goal is to decipher the involvement of lipid hydrolases in the development of the disease and subsequently to develop new treatment strategies.
Building blocks of metabolism as a key to metabolic diseases
The number of overweight or obese adolescents and adults is steadily increasing. Obesity increases the risk of a number of metabolic diseases including cancer. Around 600,000 people in Austria suffer from diabetes mellitus. 40,000 new cases of cancer are recorded in Austria alone every year. In the newly approved SFB, a total of 7 research groups from the Medical University of Graz, the University of Graz and the Medical University of Vienna are researching the decoding of the causes of diseases and the development of new treatment strategies. The researchers are focusing on so-called "lipid hydrolases". These key enzymes release indispensable biomolecules and are not only involved in cell growth and cell reproduction, but also play a crucial role in cellular signal transmission and in fat and energy metabolism.
SFB: Excellence program for science
The SFB excellence program of the FWF pursues the goal of supporting research networks on an international scale by setting autonomous priorities at university locations. Both the existing research potential and the quality of the projects applied for are decisive for the approval of the SFB. In a two-stage application process with international experts, the SFB “Lipidhydrolysis” was approved together with only two other projects from among 29 top-class submissions, which means a great success for the Med Uni Graz and the two partner universities. "The detailed understanding of the structure, function and physiological relevance of lipid hydrolases should lead to the clarification of disease mechanisms on the one hand and to the development of new treatment strategies on the other hand," explains Univ.-Prof. Dr. Dagmar Kratky from the Gottfried Schatz Research Center at Med Uni Graz and coordinator of the newly established SFB.
Rector Hellmut Samonigg and Research Vice-Rector Caroline Schober-Trummler are enthusiastic about the highly competitive approval of the large-scale research project: "This is not just the first SFB coordinated by Med Uni Graz, but the teams are exceptionally closely networked and approach these burning issues in a well-founded and interdisciplinary manner.” Caroline Schober-Trummler emphasizes that Graz enjoys great international visibility in the field of lipid metabolism – not least because of the critical mass of expertise at the location, which represents an important pillar within the university research network BioTechMed-Graz.
Lipid hydrolysis: New treatment options in the focus of science
"The SFB lipid hydrolysis was created based on our lighthouse project funded by BioTechMed-Graz," explains Dagmar Kratky. The involvement of lipid hydrolases in the various metabolic pathways is very complex and largely unexplored. "It is a great challenge to identify all lipid hydrolases and to describe their function", the scientist continues. However, the comprehensive understanding of the structure, function and physiological importance of these enzymes is crucial in order to subsequently gain new connections between lipid and energy metabolism and the development of metabolic diseases.
The development of effective medicine for the prevention and treatment of metabolic diseases requires a fundamental understanding of the lipid hydrolases involved. "Our long-term research goal lies in the development of new treatment strategies for obesity and the associated secondary diseases such as type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis or cancer," is the vision of Dagmar Kratky and her colleagues. With this special research area, the fourth SFB in a row is going to Graz. The first three special research areas were coordinated by the University of Graz. In the current SFB, four research groups are based at the University of Graz, two at Med Uni Graz and one at MedUni Vienna.
Facts & Figures
Further Information:
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Rudolf Zechner, Deputy Speaker of the SFB LIPID HYDROLYSIS, is a new member of the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS).
The SFB LIPID HYDROLYSIS is part of the TEC Xperience Exhibition at the Alpach Technology Symposium from 22.-24. Aug 2019
