In the lab, Neele Rottmann prepares human and animal samples for mass spectrometry analysis. As part of the HI-FIVE project, she is helping to identify changes at the protein level in heart failure. Why does she spend so much time in the lab working on separations? The technical assistant shares the answer in this interview.

How do atherosclerotic plaques form in the coronary arteries? At ISAS, researchers are investigating cellular changes in human coronary arteries using techniques such as 3D imaging. During her internship, early-career researcher Leonie Menzel used a light sheet fluorescence microscope to analyse the spatial distribution of individual cells within the tissue. She thereby gained valuable methodological experience for her Master’s thesis.

How can AI support the analysis of biomedical images? This was the question Lukas Fu explored during his school internship at ISAS. The 15-year-old also successfully completed his first programming project.

When different fluorescence signals overlap during microscopy, their clear assignment to specific biological structures becomes difficult. To address this common problem, Dr Davide Panzeri is developing AI-based signal separation methods. The biophysicist has been awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship by the European Union for his promising research project.

How do GRK5 inhibitors work at the cellular level and within the living organism? Biologist Dr Susanne Grund is working with her colleagues at HI-FIVE on a new therapeutic approach for heart failure. In this portrait, she describes what her day-to-day work looks like, balancing research on human stem cells with studies on mice.

Why do mice undergo ultrasound examinations of their hearts? What does a typical working day in the lab involve for a technical assistant in the HI-FIVE research project ? And what challenges does the job present? Theresa Pietz provides fascinating insights into her duties, motivations and experiences working with animals.

What is actually happening behind the scenes of a patient trial? Anna Ruzhyna is a clinical research associate who looks after participants with heart failure as part of the HI-FIVE project. She explains how her work helps to develop new therapeutic approaches for the treatment of heart failure.

How can new therapeutic approaches for heart failure be developed more effectively? Stem cell research plays a central role in the HI-FIVE project. In this interview, PD Dr Anna Klinke (Herz- und Diabeteszentrum NRW) talks about her work between the lab and the clinic. She explains how the versatility of stem cells enables heart and vascular cells to be obtained from individual patients' blood and why this is an important step in investigating the specific effects of new active substances.

What changes take place in heart muscle cells when a left ventricular assist device is used? ISAS doctoral student Kevin Hau (28) is tackling this question by researching the consequences of heart attacks using various omics analyses.
