Bernd Fischer Award 2019

The Bernd Fischer Award 2019 for an outstanding PhD in the Departments of Computer Science or Natural Sciences is awarded to Dr. rer. nat. Lisbeth Harder for her PhD thesis on "Layered Interactions of Systemic and Brain Effects by Thyroid Hormones” at the Institute of Endocrinology and Diabetes.

In her work, Dr. rer. nat. Lisbeth Harder investigates the influence of thyroid hormone and its metabolites on peripheral processes in the body as well as the significance of thyroid hormones for brain development. The work was divided into three projects that were independently published in journals and discussed at national and international congresses. For a transient strong increase of thyroid hormones, it was shown in the mouse model that the occurring hyperthermia is most likely not caused by the interscapular brown adipose tissue. In addition, hypertrophy and tachycardia in the heart and a surprising bradycardia after a two-week recovery period were demonstrated. For routine clinical practice, these results underscore the importance of close monitoring of thyrotoxic patients to prevent cardiac events. Another focus was on development of parvalbumin-positive neurons in the anterior hypothalamus and their thyroid hormone dependence.

Using different mouse models, it was shown that thyroid hormones are essential for the development of this neuronal population from entry into their postmitotic developmental phase until birth. Considering the role of parvalbumin-positive neurons in the anterior hypothalamus in the central control of the cardiovascular system, the data highlight a link between maternal thyroid hormone deficiency and hypertension in the offspring. In addition, parvalbumin-positive neurons in the anterior hypothalamus identified for the first time a specific neuroanatomical target of maternal hypothyroidism.

For her work on parvalbumin-positive neurons, Dr. Harder was awarded the "Von Basedow Award"of the German Society for Endocrinology in 2018.
Lisbeth Harder, born in Ingolstadt in 1989, studied Molecular Life Science in the Bachelor and Master program at the University of Luebeck between 2009 and 2014, this also included internships at the Friedman Brain Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City and the MRC at the University of Glasgow. She worked on her dissertation from 2015 to 2018 in the Molecular Endocrinology group with Prof. Dr. Jens Mittag. Subsequently, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Neurobiology of Prof. Henrik Oster. Following the 2019 award ceremony, she will take up a postdoctoral position at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm in the field of neurodegenerative diseases.

The Bernd Fischer Award has been awarded since 2016 and commemorates the mathematician Prof. Dr. Bernd Fischer (1957 - 2013). As the Head of the Institute of Mathematics and Image Computing and Luebeck`s Fraunhofer Project Group on Image Registration (MEVIS) Professor Fischer played a major role in establishing the field of computer science at the university. He was extremely committed and popular among his colleagues and his students for his excellent teaching, his extraordinary research and his work on behalf of the university.
The award is endowed with 2,500 euros and is awarded annually by the Association of Alumni and Friends of the University of Luebeck.