Karla Rubio receives Research Award of the German Society for Pneumology

Max Planck Researcher awarded already for the third time for her research project

Karla Rubio from Guillermo Barreto's research group at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim receives this year's Research Award of the German Society for Pneumology and Respiratory Medicine. The young scientist is being honoured for her outstanding contribution to basic research in the field of so-called ideopathic pulmonary fibrosis. This term describes the pathological loss of gas exchange tissue in the lung with unknown cause.

Rubio clarified the function of a protein known as EP300 in connection with the often fatal lung disease. With her research project, she created the basis for new therapeutic approaches to the disease, which has not yet been cured. After lung cancer, lung fibrosis has become another common and often fatal lung disease in industrialized societies. So far, pharmacological therapeutic approaches are limited. The causes are often assumed to be environmental influences and pollutants. However, this has not been proven beyond doubt.

The biologist, who was born in Mexico and has since moved to the University of Paris, wrote her dissertation in Guillermo Barreto's research group "Epigenetics of Lung Tumours". The research group pursues a translational approach in that it aims to transfer new findings from basic research into a therapeutic application through close cooperation with clinicians.

The 10,000 euro prize is already the third award for the young scientist. She had previously received research prizes from the Behring Röntgen Foundation (2019) and the Medical Society of Gießen (2018). Although she has already received the certificate, the prizewinner has to be patient until the official award ceremony. Due to the corona pandemic, the German Society for Pneumology and Respiratory Medicine has had to postpone the event until June of next year.

MH