B.J. Benedikter

During her PhD at Maastricht University and a postdoc at the Philipps University Marburg, Dr. Birke Benedikter investigated effects of airborne substances and respiratory pathogens on pulmonary and systemic inflammation. For this purpose, she combined cell culture modelling and analyses of patient samples with datamining of large clinical cohorts (e.g. the COSYCONET COPD cohort). In January 2022, she joined the University Eye Clinic Maastricht as glaucoma researcher. Here, she uses stem cell-derived retinal cell cultures and patient samples to investigate pathobiological mechanisms of glaucoma with potential for therapeutic targeting. Important focus points include immune activation in glaucoma, and extracellular vesicles.

Research Keywords

• Retina organoids
• Immune activation in glaucoma
• Extracellular vesicles
• Biomarkers for personalized glaucoma therapy