Two FWF grants to Prof. Dr. Peter Pietschmann

Recently, Prof. Dr. Peter Pietschmann, head of the Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathophysiology and group leader of the “Bone Research Group” at the Institute of Pathophysiology and Allergy Research received not only one, but two FWF grants (Austrian Science Funds).

Recently, Prof. Dr. Peter Pietschmann, head of the Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathophysiology and group leader of the “Bone Research Group” at the Institute of Pathophysiology and Allergy Research received not only one, but two FWF grants (Austrian Science Funds). The first one was awarded for his project on the effects of bisphosphonates on the life span of Nothobranchius furzeri, the turquoise killifish, which is an established model for accelerated aging and is known as the shortest-lived vertebrate that can be kept in captivity.

This project is a cooperation with the “Biology of Aging – The Austrian Notho Project” research group of Prof. Dr. Oliver Pusch, which is located at the Center for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Medical University of Vienna.

The second grant is for his project on the investigation of baricitinib, a Janus-Kinase inhibitor, as a treatment option for age-related osteoporosis. This investigation will be performed in SAMP8 mice, which are established models for age-related osteoporosis. This project also includes integrative data analysis by a systems biology approach, which will be conducted in collaboration with Prof. Diana Mechtcheriakova.

Both selected models are considered as senescence accelerated aging research models and will lead to new insight in the research of age-related diseases, like osteoporosis.