Dr. med. Lea Friker

After completing her doctorate in the group of Michael T. Heneka at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) on the topic “Immunostimulation of Microglia by ASC specks and ASC specks amyloid β composites”, Dr. Lea L. Friker began her residency in Neuropathology. Besides her clinical work, she is a Clinician Scientist at the Institute of Neuropathology and the Institute of Experimental Oncology at the University Hospital Bonn.

Her research is dedicated to identifying new prognostic biomarkers in diffuse high-grade gliomas, with a particular focus on inflammasome biology. During the COVID-19 pandemic, in-house clinical observations indicated that patients with glioblastoma IDH-wildtype (CNS WHO grade 4) more frequently exhibited pseudoprogression under SARS-CoV-2 infection. Building on these findings, her Neuro-aCSis project investigates the underlying mechanisms, with special interest in NLRP1 inflammasome activation as a potential key driver.

Within this project, Dr. Friker aims to elucidate inflammasome-mediated alterations of the tumor microenvironment to advance the understanding of tumor–immune cell crosstalk in high-grade gliomas. Together with the members of the Brain Tumor Translational Research Group and in close collaboration with the Institute of Innate Immunity, she intends to translate discoveries from cell culture- and tissue-based analyses into clinical application.