The first Institute for Lung Health (ILH) Symposium was held in Marburg, Germany from March 5-7, 2025, bringing together more than 250 participants. With an extensive program, the event provided a dynamic platform for scientific exchange. Eight keynote lectures of the Scientific Advisory Board Members gave an insight into international lung research, three Horizon lectures provided an interdisciplinary view of lung research, and three ILH overview lectures gave an impression of the complete research within the ILH. Over two days 138 posters were presented, and presentations of the six best abstracts and 30 teaser presentations fostered discussion and collaboration across various areas of lung research. The large number of participants at this special occasion and the quality of contributions as well as the vibrant spirit of scientific exchange very much emphasized the importance of the event for the future of lung research.
The Symposium opened with a pre-meeting of the newly established Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) with the ILH Faculty and the Organizing Committee. Over the following days, the scientific program covered a wide range of cutting-edge research topics. The poster sessions provided an overview of ongoing studies, facilitating in-depth discussions & interdisciplinary collaboration.
All the research work presented was reviewed and evaluated by all ILH members and the Advisory Board during the poster sessions. This year's poster prizes, 1st place worth 500 Euros, 2nd place worth 300 Euros, and 3rd place worth 100 Euros, went to:
1. Hanieh Anari Beigdiloo (Epigenetic landscape and cellular mechanism of macrophage associated loss of Y chromosome in lung disease)
2. Chiara Mura (Regulation of Bronchioalveolar Stem Cells in health and disease)
2. Stephanie Stephan (Neonatal oxidative stress drives premature alveolar inflamm-aging through macrophage-derived IL-6-trans and STAT3 signaling)
1. Cheng-Yu Wu (CEACAM6 in epithelial cells increase oxidative stress, inflammatory signaling and pulmonary vascular alterations during COPD reprogramming)
2. Amine Chahin (Advanced 3D alveolar models to illuminate senescence-driven mechanisms in chronic lung disease)
3. Golnaz Hesami (Impact of IRG1/Itaconate Axis on Cardiopulmonary Phenotype: Linking Bone Marrow Dynamics to Inter-Organ Communication)
3. Giovanni Maroli (Foxo3 is required for normal cardiac immune cell composition and protects from maladaptive RV remodeling upon pressure overload in pulmonary hypertension)
1. Julianne Funk (Deep CRISPR mutagenesis characterizes the functional diversity of TP53 mutations)
2. Margarida Barroso (Human IPS-Derived Lung Organoid Model for Disease Modeling)
3. Rajender Nandigama (Spatial immune mapping of lung tumors: Shaping the immune terrain by KRAS and EGFR mutations)
The ILH Symposium in Marburg demonstrated the Institute's commitment to driving scientific excellence and collaboration in lung research. The enthusiastic participation and high quality scientific contributions confirmed the relevance of the ILH's mission to advance lung health research. The success of this first symposium provides a strong foundation for future ILH events, and promises continued progress in this important area of medicine.
