We are pleased to look back on this year’s TRR369 DIONE International Retreat, held in the beautiful setting of Kloster Holzen. During the two intensive and inspiring days, the members of the DIONE consortium exchanged up-to-date information on their ongoing research projects and used the networking opportunities to establish new scientific collaborations.
A particular highlight were the talks of the guests Prof. Geert Carmeliet (Leuven) and Prof. Claudine Blin (Nice), who generously offered fascinating insights into their research and gave us valuable assessments of the scientific status of the consortium. We thank you for your participation and impressive contributions!
DIONE is an interdisciplinary research network at the Erlangen, Dresden, Ulm and Dortmund sites, which is headed by Prof Aline Bozec and Prof Martina Rauner and has been funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) – German Research Foundation since 2024.
The research objective of the Collaborative Research Centre/Transregio 369 ‘DIONE’ (DegeneratIon of bONE induced by inflammation) is to understand and specifically influence the complex interactions between the immune system and bone tissue in inflammation-induced bone loss. The long-term goal of DIONE is to develop new therapeutic approaches for the treatment of inflammation-related bone diseases and to pave the way for innovative therapies.
Long Night of Science Dresden
As part of the DIONE Consortium, the Andreev Lab offered exciting insights into research on inflammatory bone loss at the 22nd Long Night of Science in Dresden.
Children explored the interaction between osteoblasts and osteoclasts in a playful way – including observing real cells under the microscope.
There were quizzes, hands-on stations, and answers to questions like: Why do astronauts lose bone mass in space? How does nutrition protect our skeleton?
Adults engaged with scientific posters, fascinating conversations, and showed great interest.
We thank all visitors for a wonderful evening full of curiosity and exchange!
Technische Universität Dresden, AG Darja Andreev, Pauline Porschitz
From the laboratory bench to project management
Katja Dreißigacker has joined the clinical and scientific management team at the Department of Medicin 3 – Rheumatology and Immunology as project coordinator for SFB/TRR369 DIONE.
She has been involved in inflammation research in Erlangen since 2012. For many years, she worked in the laboratory, conducting experiments, organising day-to-day research activities and ensuring that everything ran smoothly. She later moved into laboratory management, where she further developed her organisational skills and strengthened teams in their work.
Since 2023, she has been coordinating the NOTICE clinician scientist programme – and now also CRC/Transregio DIONE, which connects the sites Erlangen, Dresden, Ulm and Dortmund.
Katja combines scientific understanding with a keen eye for organisation, teamwork and sustainable structures. She thus builds the perfect bridge between research and management and enriches our team with her energy, determination and experience.
Welcome, dear Katja – we are delighted to have you on our team.
DIONE Researchers Receive Best Presentation and Best Poster Awards in Freising
We are proud to share that two DIONE doctoral researchers received top honors at the 2nd Conference on Experimental Endocrinology in Freising!
Heidi Lunze (TU Dresden, B06 project of PD Dr. rer. nat. Ulrike Baschant) was awarded the Best Presentation Award for her talk:
“Specific overexpression of 11β-HSD1 as a model of local glucocorticoid action”
Ann-Kathrin Eiers (University of Ulm, B06 project of Prof. Dr. Jan Tuckermann) received the Best Poster Award for her poster:
“Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) are essential for resolution of inflammation in arthritis”
We are truly delighted by this recognition and proudly congratulate both researchers on this great success!
The DIONE project B06 “Genetically-driven cell-specific activation of glucocorticoids and GR as a therapeutic tool in inflammatory arthritis” investigates how glucocorticoids act specifically on certain cell types in order to make better therapeutic use of their powerful anti-inflammatory effects while minimizing side effects such as osteoporosis.
By studying cell-specific glucocorticoid signaling in immune and stromal cells, the project aims to develop precise and safer therapeutic strategies for inflammatory arthritis.
What a night at LNdW2025!
From the first hour until midnight, our booth “3D Knowledge Worlds – Explore, Play, Heal” was buzzing with curious and enthusiastic visitors. Experiencing their excitement first-hand was truly inspiring and showed just how powerful digital and interactive formats can be in making science and medicine more accessible.
Our goal is to bridge research, clinical practice, and public understanding — and this evening made it clear just how impactful that can be.
We showcased the first prototype of our XR game BoneEaters. With their smartphones, visitors explored how chronic inflammation leads to bone loss, turning the findings from TRR369 DIONE into a vivid, hands-on experience. The game is free to download in the App and Play Store until the end of the year.
Visitors also had the chance to dive into the CARSLE VR app, experiencing the journey of CAR-T cell therapy — from malfunctioning immune cells to reprogrammed T cells. A powerful way to explain complex treatments and support patient decision-making.
And of course, younger guests loved INFLAMMANIA 3D – The CAR T-cell Solution, our Roblox prototype, which we have developed with master students of Benedikt Morschheuser!
All these projects share a mission: making science engaging and connecting researchers, clinicians, and patients through immersive tech.
A big shout-out to our amazing interdisciplinary Inflammation Research Erlangen Team at Deutsche Zentrum Immuntherapie (DZI), Universitätsklinikum Erlangen and FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg – thank you for your creativity, teamwork, and commitment to making such formats possible!
