Johannes Klopf and Anna Sotir receive the Finlandia Prize of the Association of International Vascular Surgeons

People of the MedUni Vienna Johannes Klopf and Anna Sotir from the Division of Vascular Surgery of the Department of General Surgery and Surgical Research Laboratories, Medical University of Vienna were awarded the prestigious Finlandia Prize ex aequo by the Association of International Vascular Surgeons at this year's Annual General Meeting in Gosau (Austria). Johannes Klopf was awarded for his work on "Myeloid cells as diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in abdominal aortic aneurysms" and his various associated preclinical and clinical studies. Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) are a common cause of death, and the maximum aortic diameter is currently the only clinically applied predictor of the disease progression. Overall, there is a great need for AAA biomarkers, both diagnostic and prognostic. Regular monitoring is crucial as rupture risk is associated with aneurysm size. A fundamental component of AAA pathogenesis are inflammatory changes in the aortic wall, which are primarily mediated by myeloid cells, in particular neutrophils and monocytes. Surgical AAA mouse models as well as clinical studies in AAA patients revealed that neutrophil-derived biomarkers, especially markers of NETosis, may help to diagnose AAA, predict the size and expansion rate as well as the rupture risk and postoperative outcome in the future.