Marieke Essers

Dr. Marieke Essers is a Research Group Leader at the Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technologies and Experimental Medicine (HI-STEM) and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, Germany. She leads the 'Inflammatory Stress in Stem Cells' research group, focusing on understanding how inflammation affects hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and their bone marrow niche.

Dr. Essers received her Masters in Medical Biology from the University of Utrecht and completed her PhD at the University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU), where she investigated FoxO transcription factors in cell quiescence and stress responses. She then conducted postdoctoral research at the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC) in Lausanne under Dr. Andreas Trumpp, supported by an EMBO long-term fellowship.

Her research focuses on the link between inflammation and the hematopoietic stem cell compartment, particularly examining how pro-inflammatory cytokines affect quiescent HSCs and their bone marrow niche. Her work investigates stress-induced activation of HSCs, which is critical for understanding blood system restoration after infections and the mechanisms that protect HSCs from pathogenic insults. This research has significant implications for cancer treatment, as HSCs share properties with leukemia stem cells, whose 'sleep state' often leads to treatment failure and disease recurrence.

Dr. Essers has received notable recognition for her work, including the Chica and Heinz Schaller Research Award (2018), which comes with 100,000 euros, and the Prize of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (2018), donated by the Monika Kutzner Foundation with 10,000 euros.

• Chica and Heinz Schaller Research Award (2018)
• Prize of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (2018)

Throughout her career, Dr. Essers has mentored numerous PhD students, postdoctoral fellows, and master's students, many of whom have gone on to successful research careers at institutions worldwide. Her lab has received project grants from organizations including the DFG (German Research Foundation). The research is generously supported by the Dietmar-Hopp Foundation through the public-private partnership that runs HI-STEM.

Her laboratory, part of HI-STEM's research structure, investigates 'HSCs under stress,' 'The Niche,' and 'Leukemic Stem Cells,' with a current team including postdocs, PhD students, medical students, and technical staff working collaboratively on advancing our understanding of stem cell responses to inflammatory stress.