Cheryl van de Wetering wins postdoc fellowship from Engelhorn Foundation
(Vienna, 24.01.2023) Congratulations! For the first time, a young researcher at St. Anna CCRI, Cheryl van de Wetering, PhD, has received a fellowship for outstanding young scientists from the Peter and Traudl Engelhorn Foundation. As part of her two-year fellowship, she is investigating a novel inborn error of immunity that causes severe immune system disorders and may predispose to cancer. The goal is to find a better, personalized diagnosis and treatment for the seriously ill young patients who are affected by this genetic defect.
“I strive to investigate how immunological defects derived from molecular and cellular changes, lead to disease. On this account, I was drawn to the research group of Prof. Kaan Boztug, which focuses on the identification and molecular characterization of patients with rare inborn errors of the immune system in order to develop targeted therapy approaches for immune and hematological childhood disorders,” explains the new scholarship holder.
What is the significance of an RNA-binding protein in human immune homeostasis and disease?
Van de Wetering and colleagues identified six young patients from four different families who had an immunodeficiency syndrome, and two patients were additionally diagnosed with lymphoma. In her research project, van de Wetering aims to elucidate the role of the genetic cause of the disease to determine why the affected patients develop such severe immune deficiency. “If we know the signaling pathways that eventually lead to immune and metabolic cell dysfunction, we will be able to intervene therapeutically,” the researcher concludes.
About the fellowship
A postdoc fellowship from the Peter and Traudl Engelhorn Foundation is awarded to outstanding young researchers in the field of life sciences and is intended to serve as a career stepping stone on the path to independence. . We join Cheryl van de Wetering in being excited that she has been awarded a fellowship for her outstanding research project!
About Cheryl van de Wetering
Since 2021 Cheryl van de Wetering is a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Univ.-Prof. Dr. Kaan Boztug, MD, at St. Anna CCRI. She has a scientific background in cell metabolism, inflammation and redox biology. During her undergraduate studies, she examined the pathophysiology of a variety of diseases during multiple internships. These experiences, including the completion of a master’s degree in clinical molecular sciences in 2015 at Maastricht University/the Translational University Limburg), the Netherlands/Belgium, further focused her interest towards the intersection of human health and disease, and prompted her to pursue her doctoral studies at the University of Vermont (USA) in the lab of Prof. Janssen-Heininger in close collaboration with Prof. Wouters at Maastricht University Medical Center. Her doctoral studies afforded her the unique opportunity to study how alterations in cellular metabolism and changes in the oxidative environment in epithelial cells contribute to asthma pathogenesis. To achieve her goal to become an independent researcher focused on molecular and cellular aberrations leading to disease, she decided to continue her career trajectory by pursuing a postdoctoral position in the lab of Prof. Boztug at St. Anna CCRI.
Go to the research group
Boztug Group
Go to Peter and Traudl Engelhorn Stiftung