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Neuromuscular research

  1. Department of Neurology
  2. Our Departments
  3. Division of Neuropathology and Neurochemistry (NPNC)
  4. Research
  5. Neuromuscular research

Research Groups and Laboratories

Research Group Gelpi

Neurodegenerative diseases including prions, neuropathology, epilepsy pathology

 

Priv.-Doz.in Dr.in Ellen Gelpi-Mantius, PhD
ellen.gelpimantius@meduniwien.ac.at

Contact Lab:
Priv.-Doz. Dr. Günther Regelsberger
guenther.regelsberger@meduniwien.ac.at

Contact Genetics:
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Thomas Ströbel
thomas.stroebel@meduniwien.ac.at

Research Focus:

  • Our focus is on deepening the neuropathological substrate of neurodegenerative diseases, especially the detection of early tissue changes at the cellular level, propagation of the pathology and molecular basis of neurodegeneration; We support the development of biomarkers.

  • Austrian Reference Center for the Recording and Documentation of Human Prion Diseases (ÖRPE): On behalf of the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection.

Methods:

  • Neuropathology: Conventional histological stains, immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy, immunofluorescence/confocal microscopy; molecular biological including genetic studies; Neurochemistry: ELISA, RTQuIC.

Keywords:

  • neurodegenerative diseases; neuropathology; prion disorders; RTQuIC; tau; synuclein; TDP-43; FUS

Research Group Koneczny

Myasthenia gravis, neuroimmunology, IgG4 autoimmunity

 

Mag.a Inga Koneczny, DPhil
inga.koneczny@meduniwien.ac.at

Research Focus:

  • Inga Koneczny made groundbreaking contributions to the field of Myasthenia gravis research and IgG4 autoimmunity. During her DPhil studies at the University of Oxford with Prof. Angela Vincent, FRS FRCPath, she was the first to unravel the pathogenic mechanisms of MuSK autoantibodies as a functional block of binding between MuSK and Lrp4, and demonstrated their pathogenicity in vitro.
  • In her postdoctoral work with Prof. Marc De Baets and Drs Pilar-Martinez-Martinez and Mario Losen, she was the first to discover that MuSK autoantibodies, which belong to the rare IgG4 subclass, are bispecific in vivo in the patient serum, and that bispecific autoantibodies and Fab fragments are pathogenic in vitro.
  • In further projects she investigated the involvement of the thymus in Lrp4 MG, and the impact of long-term immunosuppression on IgG subclass distribution. She also contributed to reviews and wrote a book chapter for the Encyclopedia of Immunobiology.
  • She was awarded three  prestigious stipends from the Austrian science fund and the Austrian academy of sciences, two travel grants, one prize for the best conference poster and was invited speaker at several conferences. In 2023, as consortium coordinator, she was able to successfully obtain a large EU grant ("Doctoral Networks grant") for research into IgG4 autoimmune diseases ("IgG4-TREAT"), and is conducting research in another collaboration with Dr. Sarah Hoffmann from the Charité Berlin with seronegative myasthenia gravis ("Mya-DACH").

Keywords:

  • myasthenia gravis, neuroimmunology, IgG4 autoimmunity

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