The concept of the "fetus as a patient", which can be affected either by structural or genetic anomalies or by maternal diseases and exogenous toxicity is the mainstay of the research unit for fetal medicine. The research unit is supposed to serve as a platform for the research and scientific analysis of fetal diseases and their treatment options. Other priorities are the cooperation with national and international research groups and the promotion of young researchers.
Head of the research unit: Philipp Klaritsch
This research unit deals with infectious diseases of the newborn and related epidemiological features. Main topic is the severe bacterial infection of preterm infants and their infections acquired during hospitalization. The main reason for the increased risk lies in the immature immunological system and the immature defense mechanisms of prematurity. Connate viral infections called TORCH infections are another research focus, especially cytomegalic virus infection.
Head of the research unit: Bernhard Resch
The research unit "Cerebral Development and Oximetry Research" deals with the topic of perfusion and oxygen supply (oxygenation) of the brain of preterm and term newborn babies. The technology used for this is near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). This technology enables the non-invasive, continuous measurement of the regional oxygen saturation and the blood volume of the brain.
Head of the research unit: Berndt Urlesberger
In the research unit, we investigate relationships between macro-circulation and micro-circulation in term and preterm neonates. Macro-circulation describes the heart function and circulation in the large vessels and micro-circulation describes blood flow and oxygen saturation in the small vessels in the tissue. Measurements are carried out using non-invasive methods that do not injure the skin. Besides the brain also the muscle tissue is investigated with the focus on whether early changes of micro-circulation that occur in diseases can be detected and can help to guide therapies.
Head of the research unit: Gerhard Pichler
Our research unit focusses on rare, congenital or acquired diseases of the blood and immune system as well as in congenital tumor predisposition syndromes in children and adolescents. We work in a team of specialists, doctors in training, and students, supported by biomedical assistants, nurses, documenters. One example of our work is the creation of a multicentric patient registry, to find prognostic and therapy-relevant biomarkers through accompanying research in order to get the diseases under control better and earlier.
Head of the research unit: Markus Seidel
Common infectious and inflammatory diseases account for up to a third of all unplanned paediatric hospital attendances. Treating with antibiotics for example, as a precautionary measure against serious bacterial infections, would have no effect if the real diagnosis is a self-resolving viral infection. An international collaboration lead by the Imperial College of London in collaboration with members of the research unit of Med Uni Graz and 20 hospitals in 9 EU countries and 2 Asia-Pacific countries will make diagnosis faster and more accurate.
Head of the research unit: Werner Zenz
The research area of fetal programming and the DOHaD concept (Developmental Origins of Health and Disease) addresses the role of prenatal and perinatal exposure to environmental factors in the development of disease in adulthood. In today's world with increasing obesity, metabolic diseases, allergies and use of reproductive medicine, knowledge about the impact of periconceptional and perinatal influences is essential for health prevention. This research unit brings together clinical and basic researchers on an interdisciplinary basis to work together on research into such relationships.
Head of the research unit: Ursula Hiden
The focus of this research unit is the investigation of the interaction between the microbiome (all bacteria), volatilome (volatile organic substances in breath and stool) and metabolism in the context of pediatric surgical diseases such as esophageal atresia (congenital malformation with disruption of the esophagus), short bowel syndrome and neuroblastoma (a common pediatric tumor).
Head of the research unit: Georg Singer
Currently, the number of rare diseases is estimated to be about 6,000-8,000 different clinical pictures, of which about 80% are genetically determined. As a joint institution of the University Hospital for Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, our research unit has many years of experience in basic research and laboratory diagnostics of rare lysosomal and peroxisomal metabolic diseases. Our focus is on the optimization of existing therapies as well as the development of new therapeutic approaches for these diseases using diverse cell models and mass spectrometry.
Head of the research unit: Silvija Tokic
