Cologne, March 2025
Klosterfrau Group Award 2025
At the 46th Annual Meeting of the Society for Pediatric Pneumology (GPP) in Leipzig on March 14, 2025, the Klosterfrau Group presented two research awards for outstanding international work in the field of pediatric pulmonology. The International Klosterfrau Group Award for Research of Airway Diseases in Childhood 2025, worth €30,000, went to Dr. Natalia Hernandez-Pacheco from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, for proving that an increased risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is already apparent in childhood. This makes it possible to start targeted prevention at an early stage. The International Klosterfrau Group Grant for Research of Airway Diseases in Childhood 2025, worth €20,000, was awarded to Prof. Lilly M. Verhagen from the Amalia Children's Hospital in Nijmegen, Netherlands, for her research on the immunity of the nasopharyngeal mucosa in young children with frequent respiratory infections. The results could pave the way for more child-friendly diagnostics for recurrent respiratory infections.
The jury of the International Klosterfrau Group Award sees great potential in both award-winning research projects: they could play a decisive role in shaping the diagnosis and prevention of respiratory diseases in the future – for the benefit of the children affected.
Increased risk of COPD already apparent in childhood
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the most common non-communicable respiratory disease in adults and is responsible for nearly three million deaths worldwide each year. Some of these cases are likely due to reduced lung growth in childhood. The working group led by Dr. Natalia Hernandez-Pacheco showed that genetic factors that increase susceptibility to COPD are already associated with reduced lung function in childhood.
In a complex study, data from 45,406 participants aged 4–50 years were analyzed. First, a risk score was determined based on genetic findings, which was then correlated with various lung function parameters. An increased risk score was associated with reduced lung function across all age groups.
(from left to right) Klosterfrau Head of Corporate Communications Andreas Drexler, award winner Dr. Natalia Hernandez-Pacheco, and jury chair Prof. Dr. Gesine Hansen (Medical Director of the Clinic for Pediatric Pneumology, Allergology, and Neonatology at Hannover Medical School and chair of the jury)
Dr. Natalia Hernandez-Pacheco (left) is the winner of the International Klosterfrau Group Award for Research of Airway Diseases in Childhood 2025.
Identify risk early, start COPD prevention early
A genetically determined increased susceptibility to COPD is therefore already evident in children and adolescents in the form of poorer lung function. This opens up the possibility of starting early prevention of COPD in at-risk children.
Approximately 5–10% of all children suffer from frequent respiratory infections. This can double the risk of premature death from respiratory disease. This makes early childhood an important period in life for preventing later lung damage.
The standard diagnosis for repeated respiratory infections is to determine antibody levels in the blood. Blood sampling is often frightening for children. In addition, the results are usually not very useful, as immune deficiencies that affect the entire body and can be detected in the blood are rare. Furthermore, (blood) antibody levels show no correlation with the frequency of respiratory infections. Against this background, Verhagen's research group investigated the role of respiratory mucosal immunity in susceptibility to infection.
Protective antibodies in saliva
Saliva contains abundant antibodies that provide broad protection against various pathogens that cause respiratory infections. Such “polyreactive” antibodies, on the other hand, are rarely found in the blood. If the concentration of polyreactive antibodies in the respiratory mucosa is low, more respiratory infections occur.
Another important finding: children who had high concentrations of the bacterium Haemophilus influenzae in their nasopharynx usually had more severe respiratory infections. At the same time, increased colonization of the nasopharynx with this bacterium was associated with lower levels of polyreactive antibodies in saliva. This suggests a dynamic interaction between mucosal immunity in the nasopharynx and the microbiome there.
Award-winning studies:
Hernandez-Pacheco N, Kilanowski A, Kumar A, Curtin JA, Olvera N, Kress S, Bertels X, Lahousse L, Bhatta L, Granell R, Marí S, Bilbao JR, Sun Y, Tingskov Pedersen CE, Karramass T, Thiering E, Dardani C, Kebede Merid S, Wang G, Hallberg J, Koch S, Garcia-Aymerich J, Esplugues A, Torrent M, Ibarluzea J, Lowe L, Simpson A, Gehring U, Vermeulen RCH, Roberts G, Bergström A, Vonk JM, Felix JF, Duijts L, Bønnelykke K, Timpson N, Brusselle G, Brumpton BM, Langhammer A, Turner S, Holloway JW, Arshad SH, Ullah A, Custovic A, Cullinan P, Murray CS, van den Berge M, Kull I, Schikowski T, Wedzicha JA, Koppelman G, Faner R, Agustí À, Standl M, Melén E; CADSET Clinical Research Collaboration of the European Respiratory Society. Exploring the genetics of airflow limitation in lung function across the lifespan - a polygenic risk score study. EClinicalMedicine. 2024 Aug 12;75:102731. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2024.102731. PMID: 39568778; PMCID: PMC11577569.
Koenen MH, de Steenhuijsen Piters WAA, de Jonge MI, Langereis JD, Nierkens S, Chu MLJN, van der Woude R, de Vries RP, Sanders EAM, Bogaert D, van der Vries E, Boes M, Verhagen LM. Salivary polyreactive antibodies and Haemophilus influenzae are associated with respiratory infection severity in young children with recurrent respiratory infections. Eur Respir J. 2024 Oct 3;64(4):2400317. doi: 10.1183/13993003.00317-2024. PMID: 39117429; PMCID: PMC11447288.
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About the Klosterfrau Group Award
The International Klosterfrau Group Award for Research of Airway Diseases in Childhood has been presented annually since 2001 on the initiative of Prof. Dietrich Reinhardt. It honors scientists who have made an important contribution to basic research, diagnostics, and therapy of pediatric respiratory diseases through their work. An optional research grant is awarded if another piece of work is deemed particularly worthy of recognition. This year, the Klosterfrau Group Award was presented for the 25th time.
The Klosterfrau Group Award is very important to us.
The 2024 Klosterfrau Group Award, worth €30,000, was presented to Dr. Simon Graeber from Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin for his work on the effect of a special triple therapy for cystic fibrosis and its sensitive treatment monitoring in everyday practice. The additional Research Grant went to Denby Evans from the Telethon Kids Institute in Perth, Australia. The doctoral student was honored for her work on the influence of inhaled treatment on the lung function of children born before the 32nd week of pregnancy.
Dr. Fabienne Decrue received the “Klosterfrau Group Award 2023” for her work on the effects of low to moderate air pollution in the second trimester of pregnancy on the lung function of premature babies – and thus on the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in adulthood. The additional Research Grant from the Klosterfrau Group was awarded to Prof. Miguel A. Alejandre Alcázar, MD, PhD. In his work, he was able to show that obesity around the time of birth influences lung development and can lead to chronic lung diseases.
Pediatrician Senne Cuyx receives the Klosterfrau Group Award 2022 for his research work on detecting CFTR protein dysfunction using visual analysis of rectal organoids in cystic fibrosis. This promising approach expands the possibilities for diagnosis. The Klosterfrau Group Research Grant 2022 is awarded to veterinarian Wendy Fonseca. The researcher demonstrated in a mouse model the influence of the maternal gut microbiome on the immunity of offspring to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections. Modulation of the mother's gut microbiome with the probiotic Lactobaccillus johnsonii improved respiratory tract protection against RSV infections in newborns.
Johanna Theodorou, a doctoral student at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, was awarded the Klosterfrau Group Award 2021 for her pioneering identification of immune defense mechanisms that contribute to environmentally mediated asthma protection in early childhood. As part of her research at the Children's Hospital and Children's Polyclinic at Dr. von Hauner's Children's Hospital in Munich, the award winner identified an anti-inflammatory protein as a possible future biomarker.
Doctoral student Giulia Maule from the University of Trento, Italy, was awarded the “International Klosterfrau Group Award for Research of Airway Diseases in Childhood 2020” for her groundbreaking research on gene surgery for cystic fibrosis (CF) using an advanced form of CRISPR* Cas technology. These findings could pave the way for effective treatment of diseases caused by splice mutations.
The International Klosterfrau Group Award for Research of Airway Diseases in Childhood 2019 was presented to Dr. Shu Mei Teo, whose findings challenge previous assumptions about childhood respiratory infections and the development of bronchial asthma. The International Klosterfrau Group Grant for Research of Airway Diseases in Childhood 2019 went to Dr. Mirjam Stahl for her research into the investigation and therapy monitoring of cystic fibrosis in infancy.
Viral infections are particularly dangerous for asthma patients. Cold viruses in particular can cause symptoms to worsen significantly. Researcher Simon Phipps from Queensland, Australia, has now discovered a new therapeutic approach that may prevent this. Phipps was awarded the 2018 Klosterfrau Group Award for his research.
On March 31, 2017, the 2017 Klosterfrau Research Award was presented in two categories at the 39th Annual Meeting of the Society for Pediatric Pneumology. First place went to pediatrician Erick Forno, MD, MPH, from the Children's Hospital of the University of Pittsburgh. The researcher found that there is a link between obesity, asthma, and dysanapsis in children.
The Klosterfrau Group Award
Since 2001, the International Klosterfrau Group Award for Research of Airway Diseases in Childhood has been awarded annually on the initiative of Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h.c. Dietrich Reinhardt, the International Klosterfrau Group Award for Research of Airway Diseases in Childhood has been awarded annually. Valued at 30,000 euros, the prize honors scientists whose research has significantly contributed to the basic research, diagnosis, and treatment of childhood asthma.