Steroid profiling of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH)
Collaboration with Prof. Dr. med. Christa E. Flück. In this project, plasma and urine samples of patients with classical 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21OHD) CAH is profiled.
Steroid profiling of premature adrenarche
Collaborators: Prof. Dr. med. Christa E. Flück, Dr. med. Jani Liimatta. In this project, plasma from premature adrenarche cases is profiled and compared to healthy controls.
Steroid analysis of the follicular fluid endocrine milieu
Collaborators: Dr. med. Michael Von Wolff, Prof. Dr. med. Christa E. Flück. This study investigates steroid levels in follicular fluid samples from patients undergoing natural-cycle in vitro fertilization.
Steroid profiling of placental tissue and maternal and fetal serum
Collaboration with Prof. Christiane Albrecht. In this study, steroid levels are profiled in placental tissue, and in maternal serum which is then compared and correlated to steroid levels in fetal serum (a healthy cohort).
Steroid profiling of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
Collaborators: Prof. Dr. med. Christa E. Flück, Dr. Emre Murat Altinkilic.In this project, plasma of PCOS patients were profiled and compared to healthy controls to identify novel androgen metabolic pathways.
Steroid analysis from cell experiments, including analysing steroid levels in induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) differentiated into endocrine cell lineages
Collaborators include Dr. Carine Gennari-Moser, Prof. Dr. med. Christa E. Flück, Dr. Emanuele Pignatti, and Dr. med. Andrea Felser. In these projects, cell media aliquots are profiled from experiments during which different incubation conditions were applied to immortalized cell models, including placental, adrenal, and gonadal cell lines, and differentiated iPSCs.
Stress related activation of the HPA-axis
The hormonal response to stress is regulated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis. The activation leads to an increased release of cortisol into serum. We collaborate in different areas of psychological research to determine these endogenous biomarkers of stress.
Cortisol awakening response
Collaborators include Dr. Dario Dornbierer, Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Landolt, Dr. Francesco Bavato, Prof. Dr. med. Erich Seifritz. In these projects, saliva samples are analysed to determine the cortisol awakening response, which reflects the HPA-axis function of the wake-up process.
