Within the framework of our statutory purpose to promote science and research, the John Grube Foundation supports research work on ANCA-associated vasculitides, in particular GPA. This is done through the annual awarding of the John Grube Research Prize for completed research work, as well as through the awarding of doctoral scholarships, the awarding of research contracts, and the tendering of research projects. Our scientific advisory board has drawn up funding guidelines for this purpose, which specify which research projects are eligible. 

 

John Grube Research Award

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The John Grube Research Prize is endowed with 15,000€ and is awarded annually in cooperation with the German Society for Rheumatology (DGRh). It is awarded to researchers whose work has contributed to the improvement of the patient’s situation or to the understanding of the disease. The association hopes that this will create an incentive for doctors and researchers to contribute to research into GPA.

 

The submitted research paper(s) must be written and published in German or English and must not be older than two years by the deadline (14.5.2022). Please submit your paper by the 14th of May at info@johngrube-foundation.com, subject Research Award.
 

Research-Project funding

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The John Grube Foundation also supports research projects that are still in the planning or implementation phase and therefore have no results yet. We are happy to accept unsolicited applications for funding. Please submit your application at info@johngrube-foundation.com, subject research project.

 

We are currently providing long-term funding for the following projects:

 

GeVas Register, University Clinic Hamburg-Eppendorf

 

The John Grube Foundation supports the GeVas Vasculitis Registry, which is run by the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf and aims to record all patients who suffer from vasculitis.

The infrastructure of the registry has been ready for some time, all applications have been submitted, but unfortunately, the work had stalled. That is why the John Grube Foundation supported the UKE in December with 30,000€ to accelerate the data collection again. The data will not only be collected at GeVas, but also immediately analyzed statistically and made available to other researchers worldwide. The JGF intends to support the GeVas Registry in the long term.

 

PED Register, University Childen-Policlinic Würzburg

 

In addition, the JGF supports another registry, which is run at the Children's Hospital at the University Hospital of Würzburg under the direction of Prof. Härtel. Based on our experience with the UKE and the work on the Gevas register, as well as the fact that John would not have been covered by the adult register, we have decided to support this project as well, to the tune of 27,000€ over the next three years. To ensure the best possible use of the funds and to benefit from the pioneering work at the UKE, we regularly consult Prof. Härtel and Prof. Christoph Iking-Kohnert, UKE, and thus manage to avoid duplication of work, to coordinate the technology and to apply uniform data collection methods. 

 

Diagnosis/early detection research, University Clinic Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel

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Since September, the John Grube Foundation, together with the DGRh, has been funding the research of Jan-Henrik Schirmer, MD, to improve the diagnosis and early detection of relapses. Dr. Schirmer uses a sequencing method to analyse a large number of blood cells taken during a relapse and compares them with the blood count of a patient in remission. 

"Despite significant advances in the diagnosis and treatment of antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV), a significant proportion of patients continue to suffer chronic damage from the disease or complications from the therapy. AAVs are chronic diseases and so far cannot be cured. However, the inflammation underlying the diseases can be controlled by immunosuppressive ("suppressing the immune system") drugs. The "inflammation-free" / successfully controlled state is called "remission". However, there is still a risk of severe disease relapses. Meaningful laboratory values ("biomarkers") for the reliable early detection of disease relapses and estimation of the necessary intensity of drug therapy are still not available. This makes regular, time-consuming check-ups with AAV specialists necessary, in which blood and urine tests, as well as imaging procedures, for example, must be used to determine whether a relapse of the disease has occurred. Despite careful procedures, however, some relapses cannot be detected and treated at an early stage. 

In this project, the functional state of the cells of the immune system in active-inflammatory AAV will be characterised and compared with the functional state in remission. For this purpose, a so-called transcription analysis in single cell resolution is used. By means of this, the functional state of each individual immune cell in an examined blood sample can be depicted and not (as with conventional methods) only an overall picture of all examined cells. Transcription analysis means that the functional state of cells is analysed by detecting which genes of the genetic material a cell actually "reads" in order to produce the proteins encoded there. 

The aim of the project is to identify key mechanisms of the immune system that underlie active inflammation in AAV. These findings will form the basis for the development of new diagnostic tests for diagnosis, early detection of relapses and management of medication."
 

John Grube Research Award 2023

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The third John Grube Research Award was once again presented in cooperation with the German Society for Rheumatology (DGRh) and was awarded in 2023 to Dr. med. Sebastian Klapa and Prof. Dr. med. Peter Lamprecht from the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH).

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“Low Concentrations of C5a Complement Receptor Antibodies are Linked to Disease Activity and Relapse in Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Autoantibody-associated Vasculitis”

Arthritis & Rheumatology, May 2023; 75(5): 760–767

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In this study, S. Klapa, P. Lamprecht, and colleagues demonstrated for the first time the presence of antibodies against the cellular receptors of the complement factors C3a and C5a in ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV).
AAV includes Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis (GPA) and Microscopic Polyangiitis (MPA).

In both diseases, antibody levels against the complement receptors C3a and C5a were found to be significantly lower in the blood of patients compared with healthy individuals — particularly in those with increased disease activity.

Moreover, a reduced concentration of C5a receptor antibodies was associated with a higher likelihood of severe disease relapse.

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The authors identified complement factor receptors on various immune cells (white blood cells), such as neutrophil granulocytes and monocytes, and — for the first time in AAV — also on T cells.

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These findings suggest that endogenous antibodies regulate the expression of C5a and other complement factor receptors on leukocytes, representing a newly discovered immune checkpoint mechanism.