News from
Ana Zenclussen, Professor of Pediatric Environmental Immunology at the University of Leipzig and Head of the Department of Environmental Immunology at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), has been elected Vice President of the American Society for Reproductive Immunology, ASRI for short, at the society’s annual meeting. She was also honored with the highest award, the Senior Award.
"I am very pleased about this award and the recognition of my work to date. ASRI has accompanied my scientific career from the very beginning and welcomed me with open arms when I was able to attend an ASRI scientific meeting for the first time in 1999 and was honored with the New Investigator Award in 2002," says Zenclussen. "I also very much appreciate being able to bring the topic of chemicals in the environment and their impact on pregnant women to the forefront of society’s agenda and to advocate for the relevance of further research."
Ana Zenclussen is considered a pioneer in the work on adaptive immune responses of the mother, which support pregnancy and the growth of the foetus. She was able to demonstrate for the first time how the mother’s regulatory T cells protect paternal antigens in the foetus. In addition, the scientist identified pregnancy hormones as potent modulators of the mother’s immune response. Furthermore, the American Society for Reproductive Immunology recognized the work of Ana Zenclussen’s laboratory, which contributed to a better understanding of the role of innate and adaptive cells in regular pregnancies and pathologies such as spontaneous miscarriage and preterm birth.
In the course of her scientific career, Ana Zenclussen has successfully acquired national and international funding. With her research, she is a participating scientist in major projects at Leipzig University, such as the Cluster of Excellence "Leipzig Center of Metabolism" (LeiCeM) and the Leipzig Reproductive Health Research (LE-REP) Center. Last month, the LeiCeM research project received top funding for the coming years as part of the German government’s Excellence Strategy.
The American Journal of Reproductive Immunology Award is the highest honor bestowed by the ASRI for outstanding and lasting contributions to the field of reproductive immunology. The contributions can be in the field of clinical research or basic research.
