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WEBINAR: Lecture series Infection & Immunity: "Antigen-specific CD4 T cell responses in humans: SARS-CoV-2 and beyond"- Prof Alexander Scheffold

The year 2020, despite its challenges, brought about a string of successes for the institute and its staff. From the cross-departmental efforts in setting up and coordinating flagship COVID-19 projects, to the Department of Infection and Immunity’s (DII) advances in the fields of autoimmunity and pain relief, to the Department of Oncology’s (DONC) breakthroughs in cancer immunotherapy and characterisation, through to the Department of Population Health’s (DoPH) findings in terms of public health, this year has been one to remember.

On January 13, the « Rentrée des chercheurs » took place in the form of a series of video clips. This event promoted by Télévie symbolically marks the start of the new research projects funded by the charitable organisation and by the Belgian « Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique » (FNRS). As one of the scientists supported by Télévie, Dr Bassam Janji, Group leader of the Tumor Immunotherapy and Microenvironment (TIME) at the Department of Oncology of the Luxembourg Institute of Health, was featured in this original initiative, which provided the opportunity to discuss the work of his research group.

To be part of the “Public Health Research Unit – Custom Group 3” (Head: Dr. Maria Ruiz-Castell) and the Competence Center for Methodology and Statistics (Head: Dr. Michel Vaillant) within the Department of Population Health at the LIH, we are currently looking for a Bachelor/ Master student in Public Health and Biostatistics.

The Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg (CHL), and specifically its National Infectious Disease Department (Service National des Maladies Infectieuses – SNMI) and Intensive Care Unit, the Hôpitaux Robert Schuman (HRS), and the Clinical and Epidemiological Investigation Centre (CIEC) of the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) contributed to the results of the European clinical trial “DisCoVeRy”. Although the findings, which were published in December 2020 in “New England Journal of Medicine”, do not support the use of the investigated drugs for the treatment of more severe forms of COVID-19, they represent a step forward in the understanding of the disease and in ensuring patient safety. These results feed into the broader international trial “Solidarity”, supporting its outcomes.

To be part of the “Deep Digital Phenotyping Research Unit” (Group Leader: Dr. G. Fagherazzi) within the Department of Population Health at the LIH, we are currently looking for a Master student in Digital Marketing and Communication.

Dr Guy Fagherazzi, Group Leader of the Deep Digital Phenotyping Research Unit at the LIH Department Population Health (DoPH), will ensure the leadership of DoPH effective January 1st 2021. His appointment will further deepen the integration of digital data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the department’s and the institute’s research activities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that conducting strong translational research is key to combating the coronavirus. By leveraging cutting edge laboratory techniques to study patient samples, translational research quickly pivots laboratory discoveries into new therapies for patients, in a process known as the bench-to-bedside approach. Luxembourg has established excellent transversal and translational research, spanning several research topics and disease areas and integrating the results to provide holistic and meaningful insights that can tangibly improve clinical outcomes for patients.