Dr. Ilgin Kolabas

Project Title: Decoding brain–heart immune communication in glioblastoma using 3D histology and molecular imaging

Short Project Description:
Glioblastoma (GB) profoundly alters immune activity not only in the brain but also in peripheral organs such as the bone marrow, heart, and lung. This project aims to investigate how GB-associated systemic inflammation shapes immune and vascular niches across these organs and how these alterations relate to tumor progression and therapy response.
Using preclinical GB mouse models, the student will analyze peripheral organs for structural, cellular, and molecular changes that reflect this systemic immune remodeling. The project will combine 2D immunohistochemistry and 3D light-sheet imaging of optically cleared cardiac, bone marrow and lung tissue to map immune cell distribution and spatiotemporal changes. Image analysis will be performed using 3D pipelines. Findings will be correlated with preclinical PET imaging data to explore systemic inflammatory crosstalk between the brain and the periphery.
By linking these findings to preclinical PET imaging data, the project will provide an integrated view of systemic inflammatory crosstalk between the brain, bone marrow, heart, and lung. This research offers hands-on experience in advanced imaging and translational neuroimmunology and contributes to uncovering the systemic dimensions of glioblastoma biology.

Project Supervisors:

• Prof. Dr. Dr. Matthias Brendel (LMU Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine)
• Dr. Ilgin Kolabas (LMU Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine)

Must-Have Lab Skills:

• Basic experience in immunohistochemistry or microscopy (fluorescence/confocal)
• Familiarity with basic laboratory techniques (pipetting, sectioning, staining).
• Ability to follow established protocol

• Prior exposure to tissue clearing or light-sheet microscopy
• Basic knowledge of image analysis software (FIJI/ImageJ, Imaris, or similar)
• Familiarity with mouse anatomy or preclinical imaging
• Strong motivation for experimental work and data interpretation