Interview Exploring the Links Between Ageing, Environmental Stress and Lung Diseases

How do ageing and environmental stress promote chronic inflammatory diseases? Dr. Maja Funk, new PI at the Institute of Lung Health and Immunity (LHI) at Helmholtz Munich is getting to the bottom of this question. Together with her team, she investigates the role of epithelial cells at the intersection of ageing, environmental stress and chronic lung diseases. Their goal: To identify how epithelial regeneration can be restored in the context of disease. In this interview, Maja Funk talks about her research, her visions as new PI at the LHI and personal goals. 

MF: Since February 2024, I am leading a DZL (German Center for Lung Research) Early Career Investigator Group at the LHI at Helmholtz Munich. 

My personal goals are to continue to develop in my leadership role and to further establish myself in my field of research. In addition, I want to provide the people in my lab with an environment that enables creative and innovative research and helps them to develop and grow as scientists. 

The scientific goal of my research team is to understand how ageing and environmental stress contribute to chronic lung diseases, particularly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In this context, we will focus on the lung epithelium to identify molecular mechanisms in epithelial cells that affect homeostasis and regenerative capacity during ageing and environmental stress and contribute to disease development. On this basis, we want to identify targets for novel therapeutic approaches. 

MF: For me, the translational environment and mindset are typical for Helmholtz Munich and are very attractive to me. My goal is to take ageing research to the point where it can directly support healthy ageing. An important aspect of this is the alleviation of age-related diseases that have a major impact on quality of life, with lung diseases playing a major role. Therefore, the combination of a strong translation-oriented research environment and an institute for lung health in this setting inspired me. In addition, the LHI is part of the DZL, which offers an important clinical connection and thus further opportunities for the translational research. 

MF: A central point of my scientific work is ageing research. Although the human desire to live forever is very old, the field of research at the molecular level is still relatively young. I find this fascinating, and it also means that there is still a lot of potential for far-reaching discoveries that could have an impact on our society. 

A major challenge is to understand which age-related changes are really the cause of age-related diseases, as opposed to secondary effects with no direct function. It is also intriguing to decipher the extent to which such processes have a disease- or organ-specific effect, and which are more systemic. The lungs are a central organ for our health and are strongly influenced by the ageing process. This makes the combination exciting for me. In this context, a particular challenge is to differentiate between disease-related and age-related phenotypes and to find out how the processes can drive each other forward.  

Integrating environmental factors into the equation is an additional motivation for me because the changes in our environment are becoming increasingly significant. It is therefore important to understand how they influence our health in order to identify possible intervention strategies. 

MF: The time I spent working on my Master's thesis at EMBL in Heidelberg had an early and significant impact on me and my idea of scientific work. I was also able to work very creatively, something that I would now like to offer people in my lab as well. And that is probably also the reason why I am fascinated by working with organoids and these 3D mini-organ cultures will also be one of the main tools in my lab. 

MF: In my opinion, what characterizes the life of a scientist is the possibility to develop your own ideas and then pursue them. The investigative and innovative thinking also sets this job apart from others.  My time outside the academic world has shown me that this way of working is a privilege, and it’s good to keep that in mind. In recent years, however, it has also become increasingly apparent to me that life as a scientist also entails a social responsibility. It is important to inform people about scientific topics and misinformation within the scope of our possibilities to strengthen society's trust in science. My favorite way to take on this responsibility is as a lecturer at the kids' university; you can't start too early to get kids excited about science. 

MF: My hobbies are reading, meditation & yoga, and running. Regular running is a way for me to maintain my physical and mental health. From time to time, I run marathons, from which I draw a lot of mental strength – you don't run the last 10 kilometers of a marathon mainly with your feet, but most of it happens between your ears... 

MF: I come from a sports-loving family, especially soccer. As a young girl, I wasn't a fan of any particular soccer team, just a fan of Jürgen Klinsmann, a German player who was playing in the UK at that time. When he announced his move back to the German Bundesliga, I decided to become a fan of that team (without knowing which one it would be). That's how I became a fan of FC Bayern Munich back in 1995.