University Medical Center Hamburg-EppendorfGermany
Syed Hani Hassan Abidi is an Associate Professor at the Department of Biomedical Sciences , School of Medicine , Nazarbayev University , Kazakhstan. His research integrates virology , immunology , viral oncology , and bioinformatics , with a focus on HIV molecular epidemiology , viral evolution , and drug resistance . He has led international projects across Pakistan, Kenya, Afghanistan, and Kazakhstan, and is recognized for innovative teaching and MOOC development. Education: PhD in Virology and Immunology Research Interests: His laboratory employs bioinformatics (machine learning, AI), genomics , and proteomics to study HIV phylodynamics , viral co-infections , and oncogenic viruses like EBV in prostate cancer. He also explores microbiome-immunity interactions and designs antiviral drugs/vaccines . Recent Research Trends: His 2025 publications emphasize COVID-19 immunopathology , HIV/syphilis epidemiology in Pakistan , and particle physics contributions via ATLAS , showcasing interdisciplinary impact. Awards & Recognition: Outstanding Teachers Award (2019, Aga Khan University) Fellowship of Higher Education (UK, 2022) Teaching & Grants: He pioneered Pakistan’s first MOOC on Computer-Based Drug Discovery (2014) and received a 2022 SoTL grant for MOOC-based molecular biology education. His teaching integrates animations , films , and flipped classrooms . Collaborations & Labs: Leads projects on HIV drug resistance , HCV genomics in Kazakhstan , and AI-driven dementia diagnostics (Kazakh Brain Atlas). His lab collaborates with global institutions to advance viral disease surveillance and therapeutic innovation .
Prof. Dr. Dennis Säring is a faculty member at the University of Applied Sciences Wedel , specifically affiliated with the School of Engineering. His academic and research activities focus on Deep Learning , Medical Image Analysis , and applications of Artificial Intelligence in healthcare and biomedical imaging. He has led seminars on Deep Learning topics and supervised student projects in Autonomous Driving at Audi's AADC 2018 competition. Research Highlights : Cardiovascular imaging, forensic age estimation via MRI, neural network-based bone segmentation, and cerebrovascular aneurysm analysis. Technical Expertise : Cardiac MRI, 3D/4D image processing, parametric mapping, and spatiotemporal data fusion. His recent publications (2018-2023) emphasize 3D MR segmentation for age assessment, CMR strain analysis in athletes, and T1/T2 mapping for myocarditis. Key collaborations include institutions like the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf and Wedler Hochschulbund, with funding for autonomous vehicle research. While no explicit scientific awards are listed, his work spans clinical cardiology, forensic radiology, and AI-driven medical diagnostics.
Prof. Vasilis Ntziachristos is a Professor and Chair of Biological Imaging at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), leading the Institute of Biological and Medical Imaging at the Helmholtz Centre Munich. His research focuses on developing novel optical and optoacoustic imaging techniques for early disease detection, diagnostics, and theranostics. He holds a PhD in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania and previously served as an Assistant Professor at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital. Affiliations: TUM School of Medicine and Health, Helmholtz Munich, Institute of Biological and Medical Imaging. Key Research Themes: Non-invasive imaging methods, molecular imaging, optoacoustic technology, and clinical translation. His work bridges theoretical developments with clinical applications, including advancements in glucose monitoring, cancer imaging, and drug delivery systems. Notable awards include the Leibniz Prize (2013) and the World Molecular Imaging Society Gold Medal (2015). Labs/Teams: Imaging to Sensing I2S, Optoacoustic Mesoscopy, Fluorescence Imaging, and AI in Optoacoustics. Grants/Projects: Involvement in Horizon Europe initiatives and collaborations with TranslaTUM and Helmholtz Munich. Prof. Ntziachristos actively contributes to education via courses like 'Biological Imaging' and 'Introduction to Bioengineering', fostering the next generation of imaging scientists.
Professor Matthias Mann is a world-leading scientist serving as Director of the Proteomics and Signal Transduction department at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried, Germany, and Director of the Proteomics department at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. With an h-index exceeding 277 and over 350,000 citations, he is recognized as the highest cited German researcher and one of the most influential scientists globally in proteomics. His educational background includes: Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Yale University (1988) Master's Degree in Physics from Georg August University Göttingen (1984) Bachelor's of Arts in Mathematics from Georg August University Göttingen (1982) Professor Mann's research focuses on advancing mass spectrometry-based proteomics to understand biological systems at the protein level. His work spans technological developments in mass spectrometry, bioinformatics and computational analysis, signal transduction and posttranslational modifications, and clinical proteomics applications for disease diagnosis and treatment. The Mann lab has pioneered groundbreaking methods like SILAC for quantitative proteomics and MaxQuant for proteome data analysis. Their vision is to translate proteomics knowledge into clinical practice for predictive, diagnostic, and preventive medicine, with recent work focusing on AI-guided platforms for analyzing proteomes from minimal tissue samples. Analysis of Professor Mann's recent publications reveals a strong trend toward clinical applications of proteomics, particularly in cancer research, metabolic diseases, and neurodegenerative disorders. His work increasingly integrates spatial proteomics, single-cell resolution techniques, and artificial intelligence approaches to uncover disease mechanisms and identify potential biomarkers, with a clear shift from basic technology development toward direct clinical applications and personalized medicine. Professor Mann has received numerous prestigious awards throughout his career: 2025: Elected member of the American National Academy of Sciences 2024: Dr. H.P. Heineken Award for Biochemistry and Biophysics 2023: Otto Warburg Medal 2019: Nominated member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences 2013: Elected member of Leopoldina German National Academy of Sciences 2012: Körber European Science Award, Louis-Jeantet Foundation Prize for Medicine, Ernst Schering Prize, and Leibniz Prize Professor Mann leads a highly collaborative research team involved in multiple international networks including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, CLINSPECT-M, and Munich Heart Alliance. His lab has mentored numerous successful researchers, with several former postdocs receiving prestigious ERC Starting Grants. The Mann group has developed innovative clinical proteomics pipelines for analyzing archived tissue specimens and body fluids, aiming to identify protein markers for early detection of diseases such as diabetes and cancer. The Mann lab operates across two major research centers with state-of-the-art mass spectrometry facilities. Their Clinical Knowledge Graph platform integrates multi-omics data with extensive metadata, creating an ecosystem for machine learning applications in proteomics. Current research focuses on developing highly sensitive methods that can profile thousands of proteins from minimal cell samples, enabling the identification of critical disease-related proteins and supporting the development of individualized therapies.
Prof. Martin Boeker is a Professor of Medical Informatics at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), affiliated with the TUM School of Medicine and Health. His work focuses on advancing healthcare through AI-driven solutions, interoperability frameworks, and precision medicine initiatives. Key projects include the German Medical Text Corpus (GeMTeX) and the MIRACUM DIFUTURE Alignment Hub. Expertise: Medical Informatics, AI in Healthcare, Federated Learning, Health Data Integration Key Contributions: FHIR-based systems, clinical decision support, patient-centered outcomes research Leadership: Director of the Institute for AI and Informatics in Medicine at TUM Hospital Right of the Isar Research emphasizes bridging clinical practice and data science through projects like modular health crawlers, automated guideline adherence monitoring, and cross-institutional medical NLP solutions. His work spans oncology informatics, rare disease management, and pandemic response data ecosystems. Recent articles highlight innovations in digital twins for precision oncology, federated analysis in oncology, and German-language medical NLP challenges. He collaborates internationally on EHR standardization and healthcare interoperability, contributing to the Medical Informatics Initiative (MII) and pandemic evidence ecosystems. Grants and collaborations involve the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, European initiatives, and industry partnerships. Educational efforts focus on training future medical informatics professionals through MII competency programs.
Nasir M. Rajpoot is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Warwick, UK. His research focuses on computational pathology, medical image analysis, and deep learning applications in histology. He leads interdisciplinary projects integrating artificial intelligence with healthcare, particularly in cancer diagnostics and pathology workflows. Rajpoot’s work emphasizes developing robust algorithms for histology image analysis, including nuclear segmentation, tumor classification, and domain generalization in computational pathology. His contributions include the TIAToolbox, an open-source framework for tissue image analytics, and the CoNIC Challenge to advance nuclear detection and counting in histology images. He collaborates with clinicians and biologists to translate AI models into clinical practice, addressing challenges like tumor heterogeneity and staining variability. Rajpoot’s research spans colorectal, lung, and oral cancers, with a focus on predicting clinical outcomes via histological features and genomic data integration. Notable projects include the development of Handcrafted Histological Transformer (H2T) for unsupervised representations of whole slide images and the SAFRON framework for histology image synthesis. His work addresses domain adaptation, robustness evaluation, and explainability in AI-driven pathology systems.
Prof. Oliver Seitz leads the Bioorganic Synthesis research group at the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin. His lab focuses on cutting-edge chemical biology approaches for protein/nucleic acid interrogation, with recent work advancing DNA/RNA-programmed assemblies for cellular imaging and therapeutic applications. Research spans chemical protein synthesis, glycoprotein/phosphoprotein engineering, and nucleic acid-templated reactions. Key innovations include Forced Intercalation (FIT) probes for wash-free RNA imaging, loss-of-affinity principles for catalytic efficiency, and peptide-PNA conjugates for targeted cellular delivery. The group actively develops tools for live-cell protein labeling and biomolecular spatial screening. Recent publications (2021-2024) emphasize fluorescence-based detection systems, catalytic templated reactions, and therapeutic peptide synthesis. Trends show increasing sophistication in multi-dye probes, glycan engineering, and RNA-triggered pro-drug activation. Scientific awards include: Max Bergmann Award (2019) Prof. Seitz actively advises doctoral students, with recent graduates Marvin Björn Stutz (2023, magna cum laude ), Dino Gluhacevic von Krüchten (2023, summa cum laude ), and Sophie Schöllkopf (2023, magna cum laude ). Current PhD candidates include Ekaterina Kazakova (glycoprotein synthesis), Alina Herfort (phosphoproteins), and Lina-Marie Beck (peptide-nucleic acid conjugates), with postdocs like Dr. Mandana Oloub (viscosity sensors). The Bioorganic Synthesis lab operates within Berlin's vibrant chemical research ecosystem, utilizing specialized techniques for chemical protein synthesis and nucleic acid detection. Recent team growth reflects ongoing projects in RNA imaging, catalytic templated reactions, and therapeutic conjugate development, supported by open positions for new researchers.
University Medical Center Hamburg-EppendorfGermany
Martin Gosau is a Professor at the Clinic and Polyclinic for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery within the Medical Faculty of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). His research focuses on Oral Surgery , Maxillofacial Surgery , and Regenerative Medicine , with a strong emphasis on Dental Implants , Head and Neck Cancer , and Oral Pathology . University: University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf School: Medical Faculty Department: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Academic Rank: Professor His recent work explores: Oral Health in Genetic Disorders (e.g., hypophosphatasia) Advanced Surgical Techniques (e.g., nanosecond lasers, fluorescence angiography) Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering (e.g., silk fibroin membranes, extracellular vesicles) Cancer Prognostics (e.g., DCBLD1 overexpression in HNSCC) Key trends in his 15 most recent articles include applications of machine learning in oral diagnostics, stem cell research for bone regeneration, and biomaterials in reconstructive surgery. He frequently collaborates with Ralf Smeets and Thomas Vollkommer , with publications spanning Frontiers in Immunology , Oral Surgery , and Scientific Reports .
University Medical Center Hamburg-EppendorfGermany
Prof. Dr. med. Franz Lennard Ricklefs is a Senior Physician and Head of the Working Group at the Department of Neurosurgery, University of Hamburg Faculty of Medicine. He is a Medical Specialist in Neurosurgery with cross-disciplinary expertise in neuro-oncology, molecular pathology, and extracellular vesicle research. Affiliations: University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), European Liquid Biopsy Society (ELBS), International Consortium on Meningiomas (ICOM) Research Interests: His work focuses on neurosurgical oncology, particularly glioblastoma and meningioma pathobiology. He investigates DNA methylation patterns, extracellular vesicle biomarkers, and liquid biopsy implementation in clinical neuro-oncology. Additional interests include surgical outcomes for epilepsy and aneurysm management. Article Trends: Over the last decade, Dr. Ricklefs has published extensively on: Extracellular vesicle applications as liquid biopsy markers DNA methylation subclasses for glioblastoma and meningioma Multicenter surgical outcome benchmarking Immune evasion mechanisms in neuro-oncology Technological innovations in neurosurgical visualization Molecular characterization of rare CNS tumors Professional Contributions: He co-authored the MISEV2023 guidelines for extracellular vesicle studies and participates in international consensus reviews for meningioma classification. His collaborations span institutions across Europe and North America.
Benedikt Günther is a research scientist at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) working within the Chair of Biomedical Physics led by Prof. Dr. Franz Pfeiffer. His research focuses on the Munich Compact Light Source (MuCLS), a laboratory-scale inverse Compton X-ray source that provides synchrotron-like radiation for biomedical applications. Günther plays a key role in developing, optimizing, and characterizing this innovative technology, contributing to both its fundamental physics and practical medical applications. His primary research interests center around X-ray physics and imaging techniques, particularly laser enhancement cavities for inverse Compton X-ray sources, X-ray microscopy, dynamic phase-contrast imaging, and X-ray spectroscopy. Günther's work bridges fundamental physics with practical medical applications, developing instrumentation that brings synchrotron-quality imaging to conventional laboratory settings. His research has significant implications for improving medical diagnostics while making advanced imaging techniques more accessible. Analysis of Günther's publication record reveals a consistent focus on advancing compact X-ray source technology and its applications. His work demonstrates expertise in both theoretical modeling and experimental implementation, with publications spanning instrument development, imaging techniques, and specific medical applications. The research shows progression from fundamental source characterization to increasingly sophisticated biomedical applications, particularly in breast imaging, dental diagnostics, and materials science. 2019 Best Poster Award at the combined meeting of the 68th Denver X-ray Conference (DXC) & 25th International Congress on X-ray Optics and Microanalysis (ICXOM) for 'Full-Field Structured Illumination Super-Resolution X-ray Transmission Microscopy' Günther regularly presents his work at major international conferences including the International Particle Accelerator Conference, High-Brightness Sources and Light-driven Interactions Congress, and specialized X-ray imaging meetings. His research is conducted within the Munich Compact Light Source facility, a collaborative project involving physicists, engineers, and medical researchers working to develop laboratory-scale synchrotron technology for widespread biomedical use.
Prof. Dr. Ioachim Pupeza serves as Group Leader in the Department of Spectroscopy/Imaging at the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz-IPHT) in Jena, Germany. His research focuses on advanced optical measurement techniques, particularly in the field of field-resolved spectroscopy and precision optical measurements. Dr. Pupeza's research interests center around optical spectroscopy with a particular emphasis on field-resolved techniques that capture the complete electric field waveform of light-matter interactions. His work spans infrared spectroscopy , molecular fingerprinting , ultrafast laser technology , and precision optical measurements . He has made significant contributions to electro-optic sampling techniques, which enable characterization of electric-field waveforms across the terahertz to visible spectral range. His research also extends to mid-infrared light generation , terahertz spintronic emitters , and cavity-enhanced spectroscopy , with applications ranging from fundamental physics to medical diagnostics. Analysis of Dr. Pupeza's recent publications reveals a strong trend toward increasingly sophisticated field-resolved spectroscopy techniques with applications in both fundamental science and practical diagnostics. His work has evolved from basic measurement techniques to applications in cancer detection through molecular fingerprinting of biofluids. A consistent theme across his publications is the pursuit of higher precision, broader bandwidth, and improved sensitivity in optical measurements, often achieving attosecond-level precision. His research bridges physics, engineering, and medical applications, demonstrating how fundamental optical advances can translate to real-world diagnostic tools. Dr. Pupeza leads the research group "Field-Resolved Optical Precision Measurement Methods" at Leibniz-IPHT, which appears to collaborate extensively with other research institutions and groups. His work involves sophisticated laser systems including high-power Yb:YAG thin-disk oscillators, femtosecond enhancement cavities, and dual-oscillator systems for precision measurements. The group's research has implications for molecular spectroscopy, medical diagnostics, and fundamental studies of light-matter interactions at the most fundamental time scales.
Prof. Julia Herzen holds the Associate Professorship of Physics in Biomedical Imaging at the Department of Physics , TUM School of Natural Sciences , Technical University of Munich . Her research focuses on advancing X-ray imaging techniques using synchrotron radiation and laboratory sources, with applications in medical diagnostics and tissue analysis. Position: Associate Professor Department: Physics School: TUM School of Natural Sciences University: Technical University of Munich Contact: julia.herzen@tum.de Her core research interests include: Quantitative multi-modal X-ray imaging (spectral & phase-contrast) 3D virtual histology of human tissue Breast cancer detection improvement Lung disease imaging (emphysema, pneumonia) X-ray phase-contrast tomography Dark-field imaging material decomposition Recent publications demonstrate expertise in dark-field imaging for lung pathology , phase-contrast CT for organoid visualization , and spectral X-ray applications in multi-material differentiation . Her team explores clinical translation of X-ray techniques for non-invasive diagnostics . She supervises PhD students and teaches Biomedical Engineering courses, including: Quantitative X-Ray Imaging (3 VI) Image Processing in Physics (2 VO) Biostatistics (2 VO) Advanced Lab Courses in X-ray Micro-CT
Privatdozent Dr. Andreas Faust is a leading researcher at the European Institute for Molecular Imaging (EIMI) at the University of Münster, where he heads the Chemical Targeting Lab. His work focuses on developing innovative imaging agents for medical diagnostics, particularly in radiopharmaceutical chemistry and molecular imaging. He maintains strong affiliations with the Department of Nuclear Medicine at the University Hospital Münster and participates in the "Cells in Motion" excellence cluster, contributing to cutting-edge research at the intersection of chemistry, medicine, and imaging technology. Dr. Faust completed his chemistry studies at the University of Münster, earning his Diploma in 1999, followed by his doctoral degree (Dr. rer. nat.) in 2003 with research on artificial caffeine receptors. His academic journey continued with positions at the Department of Organic Chemistry and the Department of Nuclear Medicine before becoming head of the chemistry group at EIMI in 2011. Dr. Faust's research centers on organic and medicinal chemistry with specialization in radiopharmaceutical chemistry . His team develops novel tracers for diagnostic molecular imaging using positron emission tomography (PET), single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), optical imaging, and photoacoustic imaging. A significant portion of his work focuses on creating specific ligands for the alarmins S100A8/S100A9 and bacteria-specific tracers based on complex carbohydrates or siderophores. His research has important applications in inflammation imaging, infection diagnostics, and cancer theranostics, with emphasis on improving metabolic stability and target specificity of imaging agents. His publication record demonstrates consistent contributions to molecular imaging, with recent work emphasizing bacteria-specific PET tracers, inflammation imaging targeting S100 proteins, and novel optical imaging probes. The research shows a clear trajectory toward developing clinically applicable imaging agents with improved specificity and metabolic stability, particularly in the areas of infection diagnostics and inflammation monitoring. 2017: Best Poster Award at Symposium "Molecular Imaging Agents in Medicine," Groningen 2009: Young Investigator Award at Deutscher Röntgenkongress, Berlin 2005: Best Scientific Poster Award at 4th Annual Meeting of the Society of Molecular Imaging, Köln Dr. Faust leads multiple significant research projects, including as Coordinator of a project on immune cell distribution imaging (2019-2024) and as Principal Investigator for CRC-project A03 "Targeting of S100A8/A9 for imaging of inflammatory disorders" and research on vascular graft infections (both 2021-2024). His Chemical Targeting Lab comprises a multidisciplinary team working at the intersection of chemistry, microbiology, and medical imaging, securing substantial funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiative and DFG Collaborative Research Centre. The Chemical Targeting Lab maintains state-of-the-art facilities for chemical synthesis, radiochemistry, and biological testing. The lab collaborates extensively with microbiologists, clinicians, and imaging specialists to translate basic research into clinical applications. Current research directions include optimizing bacterial imaging probes for clinical diagnostics and developing new inflammation-specific tracers for early disease detection, with particular focus on S100A9-targeted imaging and siderophore-based bacterial detection systems.
Prof. Dr. Roland Zengerle serves as Full Professor for Application Development at the Institute of Microsystems Technology within the Faculty of Engineering at Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg, concurrently holding the position of Director at Hahn-Schickard Institute for Microanalysis Systems in Freiburg. His academic leadership spans microsystems engineering with a focus on translational research bridging fundamental science and clinical applications. Zengerle's research expertise centers on Microfluidics, Lab-on-a-Chip systems, Bio-MEMS, Electrochemical Energy Systems, and Tomographic Reconstruction of Mesoporous Materials. He pioneers hybrid manufacturing techniques integrating molten metal printing with polymer processing to develop point-of-care diagnostic platforms and advanced energy systems. Current projects include UTI-Diag for urinary tract infection diagnosis and PhotonMed, a 32-million-euro medical technology initiative where his MEMS Applications Laboratory develops centrifugal microfluidic solutions. Analysis of his recent publications reveals a dominant trend toward multi-technology integration: centrifugal microfluidics combined with 3D bioprinting for organoid-based drug testing, molten metal printing for flexible electronics, and bead-based immunoassays for infectious disease detection. The work demonstrates strong clinical translation focus, particularly in cancer diagnostics (circulating tumor cell isolation), infectious disease testing (TB diagnostics), and regenerative medicine (spheroid/organoid handling). His laboratory has secured significant funding for high-impact projects including: UTI-Diag: Molecular diagnostics for urinary tract infections PhotonMed: Medical technology innovation consortium livMatS: Living, Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials Systems Zengerle actively mentors researchers through Freiburg's Master Lab program and Writer's Studio initiative while promoting young talent via Bootcamp training. His group maintains strategic alliances with Hahn-Schickard spin-offs and industry partners, leveraging university cleanroom facilities and specialized service centers for microfabrication. The MEMS Applications Laboratory operates as a hub for interdisciplinary innovation, combining microfabrication expertise with clinical insights to develop commercializable diagnostic solutions. Current infrastructure supports centrifugal microfluidic cartridge development, 3D-bioprinting of tissue models, and electrochemical sensor integration, with ongoing work focused on automating complex biological workflows for point-of-care applications.
Professor Patrick Harter is a faculty member at the Institute of Neuropathology, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU), where he leads research in neuro-oncology and molecular diagnostics of CNS tumors. His work focuses on glioblastoma, meningioma, and brain metastasis, with emphasis on epigenetic mechanisms like DNA methylation and metabolic adaptations in the tumor microenvironment. Research interests span: Molecular classification of brain tumors using DNA methylation profiling Therapeutic targeting of BRAF/MEK and PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathways Role of hypoxia and metabolic plasticity in treatment resistance Liquid biopsy development for non-invasive tumor monitoring His recent publications demonstrate a strong trend toward integrating epigenetic, metabolic, and immunotherapeutic approaches. Articles frequently explore: Novel biomarkers for tumor grading and prognosis Mechanisms of therapy resistance in gliomas Impact of tumor microenvironment on metastasis
