At the 66th Congress of the German Society for Pneumology in Munich, the €5,000 René Baumgart Foundation research prize was awarded to two outstanding researchers working in the field of pulmonary hypertension (full text in German available at this link)
English AI translation and summary
Dr. Fenja Knöpp (Justus Liebig University, Giessen) was recognised for her work identifying Piezo1 — a mechanosensitive ion channel in pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells — as a key driver of hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension. Selectively blocking Piezo1 significantly reduced vascular damage in disease models, opening promising new therapeutic avenues.
Dr. Athiththan Yogeswaran (University Hospital Giessen and Marburg) was awarded for a large meta-registry analysis of over 34,000 patients showing that PDE5 inhibitors, particularly in combination with inhaled prostacyclins, are associated with significantly improved survival in patients with pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease (ILD-PH).
Both studies represent important steps forward in understanding and treating pulmonary hypertension, and offer hope for future therapeutic advances.
The René Baumgart Foundation, established in 2001, has been awarding its annual research prize since 2004 in memory of René Baumgart, who lost his life to Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (IPAH) at the age of 23.
Left to right, back row: Prof. Dr. Hanno H. Leuchte, Neuwittelsbach Hospital, Roland Stenzel and Roger Rakowsky from the Bavarian Regional Association of Pulmonale Hypertonie e.V. Left to right, front row: Prize winner Dr. Athiththan Yogeswaran from Giessen, Dr. Hans Klose, Deputy Chairman of the René Baumgart Foundation, Prize winner Dr. Fenja Knöpp from Giessen, Hans-Dieter Kulla, Secretary of the René Baumgart Foundation.
Photo credit: © Mike Auerbach