Who are you and where are you based?

I’m Claudia Dames, Postdoc in the lab of Andreas Meisel at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin in the Department of Experimental Neurology and Meisel group in the Institute of Medical Immunology where I obtained a PhD in Immunology from the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin in 2017. 

Can you briefly describe the research that you do?

My primary research focus is stroke-induced impairment of pulmonary defence mechanisms. On the one hand, we have recently identified striking alterations in primary innate pulmonary defence contributing to post-stroke pneumonia in our pre-clinical model and are currently confirming these alterations in stroke patients. On the other hand, we are testing new treatment strategies to pre-activate the pulmonary immunity and improve host defences to prevent development of bacterial infections and improve outcome.

What is your role in the Stroke IMPaCT Network?

Together with other sites, we develop tissue sampling and behavioural assessment protocols and collected data on post-stroke cognitive impairment as part of a multi-lab pre-clinical study. Furthermore, we are setting up experimental models of sublethal post-stroke pneumonia in order to investigate how post-stroke infection/ peripheral inflammation affect B cell priming/ brain infiltration and exacerbate cognitive decline.

What are you enjoying most about being part of this network?

One of the strengths of this network is the broad spectrum of clinical and pre-clinical expertise within stroke research. Frequent network meetings facilitate the exchange of ideas, recent findings and solve problems. Particularly, as a postdoc testing new treatment strategies to prevent post-stroke pneumonia in pre-clinical models, this network allows comparative analysis of stoke-induced changes in lung tissues of different stroke models with and without spontaneously occurring pneumonia. Thus providing further insights to mechanisms of interactions between CNS and pulmonary defence.

What else do you enjoy doing/ anything else you’d like to share?

In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends once Corona situation allows to.

Contacting me

For questions, ideas or potential collaborations feel free to contact me at claudia.dames@charite.de

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