IRTG 914 doctoral candidates present their research in Mexico City

From left to right: Jonas Hildinger, Thibaud Rivière, Bojan Smiljanov, Lou Wackerbarth, Matteo Napoli

Five members of the IRTG 914 (Lou Wackerbarth, Matteo Napoli, Thibaud Rivière, Bojan Smiljanov and Jonas Hildinger) presented their research work at the NEUTROPHIL 2022 International Symposium which took place in Mexico City in December 2022.
Apart from the thrilling surroundings of a place like Mexico City, the meeting provided an excellent platform for young scientists to finally participate in the first in-person conference after the Covid19 pandemic and discuss their research topics with leading scientists in the neutrophil field.
The meeting was being held at the Palacio de la Escuela de Medicina (the Medical School historic building), located in the heart of Mexico’s historic Old City. The conference started off with a key note lecture by Dr. Arturo Zychlinsky from the Max-Planck-Institut für Infektionsbiologie in Berlin, followed by a welcome reception in the main courtyard of the Palacio de Medicina which already gave the first chance to network with neutrophil-enthusiasts from all places over the world.
The next days were filled with an exciting schedule of talks being held by well-known and leading scientist in neutrophil research and on top of that, the young researchers had the chance to present and discuss their work during the poster sessions which provided an excellent space for networking and interaction with other scientists from in the field.
Bojan Smiljanov (project B3) presented his poster on the role of TSP-1 in recruiting neutrophils whilst collaborating with platelets and endothelial cells and Jonas Hildinger (project B03) showed how Vitronectin promotes immunothrombotic dysregulation in the venular microvasculature. Thibaud Rivière (project A02) presented his poster on the role of CD18 in zebrafish neutrophils under inflammatory conditions. Lou Wackerbarth (project B01) presented her work on fetal neutrophils and how A20 was discovered to be a key regulator of neutrophil recruitment during fetal ontogeny, whereas Matteo Napoli (project B11) had the chance to give a short talk on his PhD topic, deciphering the role of MRP18/14 , fine tuning the Ca2+ availability during beta2 integrin activation in neutrophils.
Besides the fantastic academic and scientific value of this meeting, the young investigators from Germany were able to appreciate a memorable cultural exchange and experienced a perfectly organized venue from the local organizing team, with highlights like the Mexican Dinner as well as a visit to the pyramids of Teotihuacan.