News

July 2025 – ISD research teams met at the Ammersee for the annual scientific retreat to present their projects and discuss science. Besides presentations from Ph.D. students, a poster session, invited speaker talks, three minute thesis competition there were some amazing presentations about using AI and LLMs. The meeting further served as an opportunity to familiarize people with the medium- and long-term strategy of ISD.

June 2025 – Arthur Liesz received the prestigious ESO Scientific Excellence Award for his contributions to the understanding of stroke and neurovascular disease. The award was delivered in the Presidential Session at the European Stroke Organisation Conference (ESOC 2025) in Helsinki. Arthur Liesz’ research focuses on brain-immune interactions after acute brain injuries. >>

May 2025 – The Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy) has been awarded a third funding period (2026-2032) by the DFG. The decision was announced on Thursday May 22nd and followed a competitive review within the framework of the German Excellence Initiative. “We are excited about the outcome and the opportunities that lie ahead of us”, says Martin Dichgans, one of the future spokespersons of the Cluster. >>

April 2025 – Using chronic 2-photon imaging in-vivo, Anna-Sophia Wahl and her team tracked the fate of individual neurons involved in spatial memory before and after multiple, distributed microstrokes. Network stability predicted cognitive outcomes, highlighting targets for preventing post-stroke cognitive decline. >>

April 2025 – In an effort to develop novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, ISD investigators recently were awarded a project grant on “Reprogrammed microglial cells as a therapeutic approach against Alzheimer's Disease” that will run for three years. The project capitalizes on microglia, a cell type that is centrally involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. >>

March 2025 – In a collaborative study, ISD researchers found that Alpha-synuclein co-pathology is more common in advanced AD and accelerates tau aggregation and cognitive decline. This underscores the need to consider αSyn in AD research and treatment strategies, particularly in amyloid-driven tau pathophysiology. >>

March 2025 – Fatty liver disease exacerbates atherosclerosis, but the mechanisms are incompletely understood. A new collaborative study led by ISD investigators identifies D-dopachrome tautomerase (D-DT/MIF-2) as an atypical chemokine that promotes both atherosclerosis and hepatic lipid accumulation. The researchers also define the underlying receptor mechanism >>

January 2025 – Common genetic variants in a cis-regulatory element at HDAC9 are associated with atherosclerotic phenotypes including stroke and myocardial infarction. ISD investigators now defined a mechanism whereby HDAC9 regulates activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome and developed a targeted anti-inflammatory approach for treating atherosclerosis. >>

January 2025 – A study led by ISD researchers suggests a key mechanistic link between Aβ and tau accumulation in Alzheimer’s disease, showing that Aβ induces neuronal hyperconnectivity, thereby promoting the spread of tau pathology across interconnected brain regions. >>

November 2024 – A new collaborative study coordinated by LMU/SyNergy investigators and the University of Vienna proposes a novel clinical workflow for the reliable biomarker-based identification of amyloid pathology in memory clinic patients, in preparation of disease-modifying treatments against Alzheimer’s disease >>

November 2024 – Of the world’s population of scientists, Highly Cited Researchers™ are 1 in 1,000. The current list from Clarivate identifies researchers who demonstrated significant influence in their field through the publication of highly cited papers. >>

November 2024 – Organized by ISD (Steffen Tiedt), the first BIOSTROKE meeting brought together 50 participants for an in-depth discussion to accelerate stroke biomarker research. The meeting took place in the Center for Advanced Studies close to the English Garden.>>

October 2024 – ISD organized the 1st FASEB Mini-Symposium on Cardiovascular Sciences and Cancer as part of a Europe outreach activity of the Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology (FASEB), for which the Institute Pasteur (Paris) and LMU Munich were selected. Experts from the US, Japan, and Munich covered an excellent spread and depth of topics on atherosclerosis, cardiometabolic, cardiopulmonary, and cancer research.>>

October 2024 – This years International Conference on Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy convened experts in the field of CAA research from around the globe including early career investigators and patient representatives. Presentations covered the latest developments in CAA research ranging from basic research to clinical trials and guidelines currently under development. The meeting was supported by the DFG and SyNergy cluster.>>

September 2024 – The European Research Council awarded an ERC Starting Grant to Anna-Sophia Wahl for studying fundamental principles of neuronal repair after stroke. With her team Anna-Sophia will examine how individual neurons in the active brain react to microstrokes and how the survival and rewiring of neurons can be enhanced to prevent cognitive decline after stroke. >>

August 2024 –  Using a novel experimental model, ISD researchers showed that stroke activates the AIM2 inflammasome in atherosclerotic plaques via increased circulating cell-free DNA, causing inflammation, plaque destabilization, and recurrent stroke. Neutrophil NETosis was identified as the main source of cell-free DNA. Neutralizing cell-free DNA or inhibiting inflammasome activation reduced stroke recurrence, offering new perspectives for the prevention of early recurrent events >>