Skip to content

3 Questions for… Dr Christopher Nelke

Dortmund, 27th February 2024

Dr Christopher Nelke is an assistant physician and research associate at the Clinic for Neurology at Düsseldorf University Hospital (Universitätsklinikum Düsseldorf, UKD). His research interests include neuromuscular diseases such as myasthenia gravis. The medical practitioner participates in the Clinician Scientist programme of Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, which is sponsored by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG). According to the DFG, the focus is on structured training and the scientific qualification of researching physicians. In 2022, Dr Nelke spent two weeks at ISAS as a guest researcher.

Das Bild zeigt Dr. Christopher Nelke im Labor. In den Händen hält er eine Probe. The picture shows Dr Christopher Nelke in the laboratory. He is holding a sample in his hands.

During his research stay at ISAS, Dr Christopher Nelke, assistant physician at Düsseldorf University Hospital, spent several days in the laboratory solely preparing samples.

© ISAS

1. During your stay at ISAS, you had thymus samples with you. Why were you analysing them?

Nelke: At UKD, we are addressing myasthenia gravis. This is an autoimmune disease in which antibodies against the connection between nerves and muscles lead to muscle weakness. In all probability, these antibodies are in part formed due to a misdirected immune response against the thymus. The thymus, also known as the thymus gland, is a small lymphatic organ located behind the sternum.

Through my stay at ISAS, we wanted to learn how the protein composition of the thymus changes with this disease. The analysis is not particularly easy, as the material is rare and the thymus is different in every individual. The samples stem from patients with myasthenia gravis. Since the disease is rare, these specific samples are also very rare. For this reason, we had to limit ourselves to certain areas of the gland that were present in all samples. Together with colleagues at ISAS, I analysed them using mass spectrometric proteomics.

2. When you got an insight in Dortmund into the proteomics workflow for mass spectrometric examination, did this include all the steps needed to prepare samples? Of what use was the practical insight for your own research?

Nelke: The insight was very valuable, as up to then we had not seen enough really practical problems for a valid analysis. How big may one sample be? How big may the differences between individual samples be? How many samples can be processed and analysed at once? I believe these insights will help us to better plan upcoming research projects.

3. From your perspective, what is the greatest challenge or the greatest advantage of your work between the patient's bed and the research laboratory?

Nelke: Time is certainly the biggest challenge. It is always a balancing act to meet the demands of patients and simultaneously to find time for research. But I also think it is very helpful to be familiar with patients and their problems in order to follow up issues in research in a targeted manner and to then interpret the results.

(The interview was conducted by Sara Rebein.)

Share

Further articles

30th April 2025

Humboldt Fellow Prof Dr Xiaowei Xu started at ISAS in March

Prof Dr Xiaowei Xu from the Chinese Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute is researching the clinical application of artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of cardiovascular diseases. For 18 months in total, he will be researching various AI methods for analysing cell images as a Humboldt Fellow at ISAS.

Prof Dr Xiaowei Xu in front of the ISAS city building.
22nd April 2025

Valuable Connections: Dr Mohammad Ibrahim AlWahsh

Dr Mohammad Ibrahim AlWahsh worked as a research assistant at ISAS during his doctorate. He is now Vice Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Assistant Professor of Toxicological Pathology at Al-Zaytoonah University in Jordan. In the Kompakt series ‘Valuable Connections,’ he reports on his time at ISAS and his ongoing network with the institute.

Mohammad Alwahsh.
9th April 2025

Bacteria & Sweets: Schoolgirls Examine their Breath at the Girls’ Day

On Girls' Day 2025, twelve schoolgirls got to know the work of researchers and technical assistants at the institute. They investigated the cause of and fight against inflammation, went on the hunt for bacteria and used ion mobility spectrometry to analyze the aromatic substances of various sweets in their breath.

Luisa Speicher erklärt drei Mädchen den Vortexmischer.
27th March 2025

Valuable Connections: Dr Jianxu Chen

Dr Jianxu Chen leads the junior research group AMBIOM - Analysis of Microscopic BIOMedical Images at ISAS since 2021. He previously worked at the Allen Institute for Cell Science in Seattle, USA. In the ISAS -Kompakt series ‘Valuable Connections’, the computer scientist reports on his move to health research and to Germany.

Portrait von Dr.  Jianxu Chen.
12th March 2025

Two-step Analysis is a Thing of the Past Thanks to Innovative Mass Spectrometry

Fast and accurate mass spectrometric detection of non-polar substances such as cholesterol together with polar substances? And in just one analysis run? This is made possible by a new combination method that unites two ionization sources in one setup.

Daniel Foest steht im Labor und hält ein Papier mit einer Leberprobe, die er am Massenspektrometer untersucht.
26th February 2025

What are you doing at ISAS, Leon?

What do marshmallows and chocolate have to do with cell analysis? Leon is finding out the answer during his school internship at ISAS. For ISAS Kompakt, the 15-year-old talks about what else he is learning during his time at the institute.

Leon hält Marshmallows, Schokolade und die Hardware für sein Projekt zur Bilderkennung.
14th February 2025

Valentines’ Day: Perfect Couples in the Lab

On Valentine's Day, the editors of ISAS Kompakt wanted to know what makes our researchers' hearts beat faster. The examples from the laboratories of the Bioimaging and NMR Metabolomics research groups show that special bonds do not only exist in love, but also in science.

Porträt von Dr. Themistoklis Venianakis.
4th February 2025

Valuable Connections: Adrian Sebuliba

Adrian Sebuliba joined the ISAS junior research group AMBIOM in 2023 as a software engineer. Previously, he worked for a digital commerce platform for the chemical industry in Uganda. In the ISAS Kompakt series ‘Valuable Connections’, he reports on his move into health research, among other things.

Portrait of Adrian Sebuliba.
28th January 2025

A Small But Very Important Step

Susmita Ghosh joined the Biofluorescence research group at ISAS in October 2021. The PhD student has now received the first funding of her career for her pilot project “Dissecting the neutrophil-tumor cell interactome using SILAC-labelling”.

Portrait Susmita Ghosh.