Crosstalk of immunity and thrombosis – novel targets for vascular disease and beyond
29.09.2026, 17 - 18
Prof. Dr. med. Steffen Massberg
Director of the Medical Clinic and Polyclinic I, LMU University Hospital, Munich
The seminar will be held on-site at University Medical Mainz, Seminar room 2, Building 708.
With the kick-off event on September 8, 2026, at DFKI in Kaiserslautern, we have officially launched the second funding phase. The event gave the partners the opportunity to introduce themselves, get to know the entire cluster, and thereby identify valuable synergies. The positive atmosphere and the in-depth discussions demonstrated how important close collaboration within the cluster—as well as a strong network—are for developing innovative solutions in cardiovascular medicine. We were particularly pleased to welcome Clemens Hoch, Minister of Science, Further Education, and Health for the State of Rhineland-Palatinate. We rounded off the successful day with a barbecue, which provided further opportunities for conversation, networking, and personal interaction.
As part of several international research visits, our Cluster Spokesman Johnny Kim presented current research findings in China and South Korea, while also highlighting the collaborative work of the curATime Cluster. At the 2026 KSSCR Annual Meeting in Seoul, he delivered a presentation entitled “Epigenetic Plasticity in Aging, Regeneration, and Disease.”
His contributions underline curATime’s growing international visibility and promote scientific exchange with researchers around the world.
We are delighted to welcome a new member to the curATime team: Prof. Philipp Lurz, Director of the Center for Cardiology at University Medical Center Mainz, is now actively supporting the curASonic project: “curATime is more than just a cluster of excellence. curATime is creating an ecosystem of innovation in the Main-Rhine region and in Rhineland-Palatinate, which will enable us, working together as a team, to rethink and redesign treatment strategies for atherosclerosis! Personally, I will contribute my clinical expertise in the field of cardiovascular medicine and, from a scientific perspective, our clinical mechanistic models and approaches to reverse translation.”
Upscaling for the successful production of cells for heart regeneration after myocardial infarction
In the project curARace, Boris Greber (Catalent), Robert Zweigerdt (MHH), and Johnny Kim (TRON) are collaborating to develop a scalable, GMP-compliant platform for the production of functional, transplantable cardiac cells and tissues derived from human iPS cells. By combining insights gained from curATime with Catalent’s extensive expertise in GMP-compliant manufacturing, gene editing, and quality control of cell products, the partners aim to advance innovative approaches for cardiac regeneration.
We warmly welcome Catalent to the consortium and look forward to jointly advancing next-generation solutions for heart tissue regeneration.
Exciting news from our microbAIome project: A study by Nadja Paeslack from the group of Christoph Reinhardt has been published in the Redox Biology jounal, titled "Toll-like receptor 2 impacts small intestinal villus capillarization through epithelial dual oxidase 2".
The study identifies a novel microbiota–TLR2–DUOX2 signaling axis that regulates the vascularization of intestinal villi, the tiny structures responsible for nutrient absorption in the small intestine. The findings link microbial sensing in the gut epithelium to vascular remodeling during both homeostasis and inflammation.
Great news from the phase I project biosignATure: The paper with the title "Blood DNA Methylation Patterns Across Carotid, Coronary, and Peripheral Atherosclerosis: A Comparative Analysis in 2 Prospective Cohorts" was published in the JACC Journal.
The study reveals epigenetic alterations in pathways involving smoking exposure, platelet reactivity and thrombosis, inflammation, and lipid metabolism. The results raise the possibility that persistent exposure-driven epigenetic alterations could become future therapeutic targets.
As part of the second phase of curATime, a key focus lies on translating research findings into clinical application.
Within the ThrombID project, Prof. Wolfram Ruf (UM) and Kai Prager (DiaSys Diagnostic Systems GmbH) are collaborating to further advance the diagnosis of vascular dysfunction in the context of thrombo-inflammatory autoimmune diseases with cardiovascular implications. Insights from previous curATime work are being combined with DiaSys’ diagnostic expertise to develop new detection methods.
We warmly welcome DiaSys and are looking forward to a successful collaboration.
curATime members have successfully secured funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG) for the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC1784) “The Interplay Between Thrombosis and Inflammation – Translating Molecular Mechanisms into Clinical Applications (IntraC)”. The consortium will receive €12.8 million over the next four years to advance research on thromboinflammatory diseases and develop new strategies for their diagnosis, prevention, and treatment.
The CRC includes four projects led by researchers from University Medical Center Mainz. Two of these are headed by curATime members, including Principal Investigator Prof. Wolfram Ruf together with Dr. Nadine Müller-Calleja, and project leader Prof. Christoph Reinhardt.
Our partner, the Life Science Center Mainz (LZM), has released its first issue of “MagSci”: a magazine focusing on the biotech and life sciences ecosystem in Rhineland-Palatinate and the Rhine-Main region—and we’re proud to be featured in this issue! “With its experience in supporting startups, fostering collaboration between science and industry, and providing access to investors, the LZM plays a key role in the further development of the curATime ecosystem.”
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