Young Investigator Award
Award for young toxicology researcher
At the conference of the European Environmental Mutagenesis & Genomics Society (EEMGS), Ann-Cathrin Wolf, a doctoral student in the Department of Chemistry, received the Young Investigator Award for the best presentation. Ann-Cathrin Wolf is currently working on her doctorate in Professor Jörg Fahrer's research group in the area of study Food Chemistry and Toxicology. She is investigating the toxicity mechanisms of heme, a component of red meat, in human intestinal cells.
Excessive consumption of red meat is associated with an increased risk of bowel cancer. Recent studies suggest that the organic, iron-containing heme molecule, which gives meat its red color, is responsible for this. However, the underlying mechanisms have not yet been fully elucidated. Ms. Wolf's doctoral thesis aims to better understand the damaging effect of heme iron and its contribution to the development of colorectal cancer.
In her presentation at the EEMGS conference, which was recently held in Bratislava in front of an international audience, Ms. Wolf focused on the fate of heme iron in intestinal cells and the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are of particular relevance for toxicity. Using genetic tools and chemical probes, she was able to track the cellular fate of heme iron. She was also able to demonstrate in which compartments of the cells ROS are formed by heme iron. Ann-Cathrin Wolf won the $200 lecture prize sponsored by the "American Journal of Physiology" for her convincing presentation.
Questions answered:
Prof. Dr. Jörg Fahrer
Area of study Food Chemistry and Toxicology
Department of Chemistry
Tel.: 0631 205-2974
E-mail: joerg.fahrer(at)chem.rptu.de