Josef Penninger

Josef Penninger is a Professor in the Department of Medical Genetics at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Director of UBC's Life Sciences Institute. He holds concurrent roles as Scientific Director at the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (Germany) and Professor at the Medical University of Vienna. His research focuses on genetic editing, organoid models, and ACE2-related therapies for diseases like cancer and viral infections. Penninger leads the Penninger Lab, pioneering studies on human-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells), vascular engineering, and glycoproteomics.

Key contributions include identifying ACE2 as a critical SARS-CoV receptor, developing blood vessel organoids for diabetes and SARS-CoV-2 studies, and advancing therapies using soluble ACE2. His work integrates stem cell biology, immunology, and systems biology to model complex pathologies. Collaborations span institutions like IMBA (Vienna) and Apeiron Biologics for clinical ACE2 trials.

Research themes include: (1) Organoid-based disease modeling for diabetes, cancer, and viral infections; (2) Glycoproteomics and SugarQb software for glycopeptide analysis; (3) ACE2's role in lung injury and therapeutic applications; (4) RANKL signaling in bone metabolism and cancer. His lab's tools like SugarQb enable proteome-scale glycan analysis, while vascular organoid models provide platforms for studying diabetic complications and viral entry mechanisms.

Notable projects include: - ACE2-based treatments for SARS-CoV-2 and Marburg virus - Blood vessel engineering for diabetes modeling - Identification of RANK's role in intestinal expansion during pregnancy - HACE1 tumor suppression mechanisms. His work bridges basic science and translational medicine, addressing unmet clinical needs in infection, cancer, and metabolic disorders.