The feature topic of this issue of TRANSFER is life science and its important influence as a key area of interdisciplinary research and development. The German economy would be inconceivable without the work going on in the fields of health care, food and beverage development, food safety, environmental chemistry, and environmental medicine. So this topic represents an important area of transdisciplinary collaboration between companies, academic institutions, and research centers in the Steinbeis Network, also reflecting key areas of interest within the Steinbeis organization: innovation, the sharing of competence, and know-how transfer.
The articles in this magazine provide some good examples of the know-how offered by Steinbeis Enterprises. They look at environmental toxicology using stem cell research, there is an outline of the latest results derived from patho-immunology in transplantation medicine (certainly an area of research that was neglected in the past), and we provide insights into the development and application of new technologies and digital methods in clinical medicine. In terms of new pharmaceutical developments, especially new techniques used in immune therapy, the characterization of antibodies is of central importance. The analysis of antibody epitopes described in this issue (the molecular recognition structures of antibodies) revolves around mass spectrometry, and this not only offers an essential starting point for new therapeutic antibodies (for example, in cancer therapy). These processes are gaining in importance when it comes to the characterization of pathophysiological antibodies during treatment, especially when it involves genetic engineering and synthetic proteins. One major problem, which often acts as a limitation in the treatment of lysosymal spinal disease based on enzyme replacement therapy, is the formation of antibodies. By identifying antibody epitopes, it becomes possible to develop new methods for molecular diagnostics and treatment.
I hope this issue of TRANSFER stimulates plenty of exchange and discussion, that it encourages closer collaboration on new technology – even supposedly unconnected technologies – and that this brings us nearer to the future goal of developing personalized medicine and health research.
With kind regards,
Michael Przybylski
Contact
Prof. Dr. Michael Przybylski
Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. Michael Przybylski is director of the Rüsselsheim-based Steinbeis Transfer Center for Biopolymer Analysis and Biomedical Mass Spectrometry. The work carried out at the center includes the structure identification of membrane proteins, the synthesis and structural analysis of modified proteins, and the identification of structures in autoimmune diseases.
In 2010, Przybylski, his center, and its industrial partner Genzyme CEE won the Steinbeis Foundation Transfer Award – the Löhn Award. The project partners jointly developed methods used in the clinical diagnosis of lysosomal storage diseases in Central and Eastern Europe.
To contact Michael Przybylski, write to michael.przybylski@stw.de