Research

Prof. Dr. Bozhidar Hristov Boytschev, born in Bulgaria, researched and taught at FAU as a visiting professor from 1991 to 1992 on a DAAD scholarship. In the interview he tells us why he is still deeply connected with Germany and what he experienced during his time at FAU.

On 1 May 2020, FAU established its own department for research and teaching in artificial intelligence (AI) in health. The University is using the professorships it has received within the framework of the Hightech Agenda Bavaria for strengthening Erlangen’s position as an AI health hub for increasing innovation in universities as the new department will not follow the structure of a Chair.

Moderate quantities of alcohol can be beneficial to our health in some circumstances. In a paper recently published in Nature, a team of researchers from FAU shows that alcohol modifies the immune system in a very specific way and inhibits the development of autoimmune diseases.

Approximately three million people in Germany suffer from chronic tinnitus. There are various theories of what causes the chronic ringing in the ears. A team of researchers at FAU have designed a computer-based model to explain the phenomenon.

Women are under-represented in many STEM areas, even more so in Germany than in other countries throughout the world. This is a common claim here in Germany, and has been scientifically proven to be true with respect to the proportion of female students and professors. A study led by FAU has now shown that the proportion on active female scientists in computer science, regardless of academic level, is less than ten percent. Not only in Germany, but also internationally.

Covid-19 leads to a similar excessive immune reaction in the lungs as in organs affected by rheumatism, psoriasis or intestinal inflammation. A research team at FAU has now shown in a study that drugs used to treat autoimmune diseases inhibit Covid-19 infections before the coronavirus can spread in the body.

The aim of the ambitious project is to develop monoclonal antibodies that can be used, for example, to protect medical personnel, staff in care homes and high-risk patients.

A team of researchers at FAU has now completed detailed modelling of the Covid-19 pandemic and has derived potential strategies for a controlled easing of restrictions.

The Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research has launched a study aimed at recording whether Covid-19 patients experience a loss of taste and smell, as well as any changes to sensory perception within the mouth.

Prof. Dr. Holger Hackstein talks about how his work as a transfusion physician has changed since the coronavirus pandemic, how special regulations of pharmaceutical law facilitate current work and how he assesses the preparations of Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, in a YouTube talk with host Prof. Dr. Joachim Hornegger, President of FAU.