Research and passion in the spotlight: Doctoral candidates celebrate their graduation—the Society of Friends awards two doctoral prizes.
Now with doctoral degrees: Group photo of the new PhD graduates together with MHH President Prof. Dr. Denise Hilfiker-Kleiner (front right, center) and Dean of Research Prof. Dr. Meike Stiesch. Copyright: Inka Burow/MHH
Doctoral Award from the Society of Friends of the MHH: Dr. rer. nat. Christine Ehlers (with certificate) with Dean of Research Prof. Dr. Meike Stiesch, Dr. med. Dr. rer. nat. Theresa Graalmann, and Prof. Dr. Siegfried Piepenbrock. Copyright: Inka Burow/MHH
Doctoral Award from the Society of Friends of the MHH: Dr. rer. nat. Fiona Engelke (with certificate) with Dean of Research Prof. Dr. Meike Stiesch, Prof. Dr. Torsten Witte, and Prof. Dr. Siegfried Piepenbrock. Copyright: Inka Burow/MHH
The Hannover Medical School (MHH) awarded 119 doctoral degrees at its spring commencement ceremony. All of the university’s academic disciplines were represented: Among the 73 female PhD students and 46 male PhD students were 40 female physicians and 31 male physicians, eight female dentists and ten male dentists, 19 female scientists and four male scientists, four female human biologists and one male human biologist, as well as two female public health PhD students. A total of 14 female PhD students and 12 male PhD students graduated with honors.
MHH President Prof. Dr. Denise Hilfiker-Kleiner praised the doctoral candidates for their “scientific expertise, perseverance, and passion” and added: “You have shown how much is possible when you believe in a goal and work consistently toward it.” She offered her congratulations with a quote from the world-renowned primatologist Jane Goodall: “What you do makes a difference. And you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” The MHH President then invited all doctoral candidates onto the stage and presented them with their doctoral diplomas.
Two researchers honored with awards
Two doctoral graduates received the doctoral prizes from the Gesellschaft der Freunde der MHH e. V., each worth 2,500 euros. The prizes for outstanding doctoral theses were presented by Prof. Dr. Siegfried Piepenbrock, Chairman of the Gesellschaft der Freunde der MHH e. V., together with Dean of Research Prof. Dr. Meike Stiesch. The award recipients are Dr. rer. nat. Fiona Engelke, Clinical Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, and Dr. rer. nat. Christine Ehlers, TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research.
The band Moonlight Trio—Adriana Soares de Almeida on vocals, Joel Marschner on piano, and Marla Stier on double bass—provided a very special setting for the ceremony with a varied musical program.
New Approaches to the Diagnosis of Sjögren’s Syndrome
Dr. rer. nat. Fiona Engelke (30) studied in the Master’s program in Biochemistry at the MHH and earned her Ph.D. under Prof. Dr. Torsten Witte, Director of the Clinical Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, with a thesis titled “Novel autoantibodies and their function in subgroups of Sjögren’s disease defined by omics approaches,” focusing on the role of new autoantibodies in Sjögren’s syndrome. She is now a postdoctoral researcher in the Applied Genetics division at the Institute of Human Genetics at MHH.
Sjögren’s syndrome is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease that can cause dry eyes and a dry mouth. In severe cases, organs such as the lungs may also be affected. Diagnosis is challenging, as it is primarily based on the symptoms of dryness and the detection of Ro/SSA antibodies in the blood. If these antibodies are absent, a tissue sample from the lip is often required, which is invasive and does not always yield clear results. Furthermore, the disease progresses very differently among those affected, making it difficult to choose the appropriate treatment and predict the course of the disease.
In her dissertation, Fiona Engelke investigated new approaches to improving diagnosis, therapy, and prognosis in patients with Sjögren’s syndrome. In the process, she identified novel antibodies as serological markers that represent a potential alternative to invasive lip biopsy. Some of these identified autoantibodies target structures found, among other places, in the salivary and lacrimal glands. Using functional, cell culture-based analyses, the mechanism of action of these autoantibodies was elucidated. This provides a possible explanation for the characteristic symptoms of dryness and simultaneously opens up new avenues for targeted therapeutic strategies.
Furthermore, typical disease patterns were identified, such as evidence of specific immune system responses like inflammation and the involvement of certain immune cells. Based on this, patient groups with similar disease mechanisms were identified, enabling a better understanding of the disease and creating a foundation for personalized therapies as well as more accurate prognoses.
Fiona Engelke has already published parts of the findings in eight original papers, one of which she authored as first author.
Gentler Treatments for Inflammatory Skin Diseases
Dr. rer. nat. Christine Ehlers (31), a pharmacist, wrote her dissertation titled “The role of innate immunity in inflammatory skin diseases” on the role of myeloid cells in inflammatory skin diseases in the junior research group “Translational Immunology” at TWINCORE, the Centre for Experimental and Clinical Infection Research. There, she was supervised by Dr. med. Dr. rer. nat. Theresa Graalmann.
Rare diseases such as systemic sclerosis (SSc), scleromyxedema (SMX), and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are associated with severe symptoms, yet they remain poorly understood and difficult to treat. Using modern methods such as spectral flow cytometry, Christine Ehlers specifically investigated immune cells of the innate immune system in the blood, skin, and lungs of affected individuals. The study’s results show that both circulating and tissue-resident immune cells are involved in disease-specific inflammatory processes—a previously unknown connection. This improved understanding is important because current therapies suppress the immune system nonspecifically, thereby increasing the risk of infection. The findings open up new approaches for more targeted, gentler treatments that could improve patient care.
Christine Ehlers’ research has resulted in several high-quality publications, including as first author in the internationally renowned rheumatology journals Arthritis & Rheumatology (Ehlers et al. 2025) and Rheumatology (Ehlers et al. 2025).
You can findDr. Fiona Engelke’s original publication here.
You can find Dr. Christine Ehlers’ original publications here and here.
Text: Bettina Dunker