Microphysiological Systems in Biomedical Research: Immunology, Human Stem Cells, Microbiota Host - Interaction, Disease Modeling and Drug Development

Lab Members

Alexander Mosig, PhD

Alexander is head of the research group and studied Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He holds a PhD in Cell Biology and has the venia legendi in Cell Biology and Biochemistry.

Alexander's CV

research interests:

host-microbiota interaction, disease modelling of chronic and acute inflammation, immune response to infection, stem cell biology, tissue engineering, microphysiological systems

Nicole Engert, PhD

Nicole is a microbiologist with an interest in host-pathogen interaction. She is investigating infection mechanisms of Clostridioides difficile and Human Norovirus. To this end, she develops a human stem cell-based intestinal model to study novel vaccines and correlates of protection.

research interests:

iPSC, IBD, stem cell biology, human intestinal organoids

Maria Warschinke

Maria studies Biochemistry and is currently doing her Master in our group. She is developing a platform for culturing human intestinal organoids.

Aina Kehinde ("Kenny") Oluwasegun, MSc.

Kenny is PhD student and holds BSc. in Microbiology and MSc. in Medical Microbiology and Parasitology. He is Early Stage Researcher in the Innovative Training Network EUROoC and develops an hiPSC based liver-on-chip model. His works focuses on metabolic pattern of liver zonation and disease mechanisms of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

research interests:
hiPSC, hepatocyte biology, NASH

Mohamed Ismail Abdelwahab Hassan, PhD

Mohamed is a microbiologist working as PostDoc on generating isogenic stem cell-based liver models to study the effect of microbial metabolites in the context of immune-modulatory therapies and infections

research interests:

short chain fatty acids, liver-on-chip, host-pathogen-interaction, macrophage biology, S. aureus

Valentin Wegner, B.Sc.

Valentin is PhD student and holds a BSc. in Molecular Medicine. He works on the establishment of a stem cell based gut model for studying the impact of the human microbiota on immune modulatory therapies.

research interests:

hiPSC, gut-on-chip, microbiota

Hristina Koceva, M.Sc.

Hristina is PhD student and holds a MSc. in Molecular Medicine. She works on the establishment of a stem cell based lung model for viral infections of Influenza Virus A

research interests:

hiPSC, lung-on-chip, lung-organoids

Manual Alwang

Manuel studies Human Medicine and does his MD in studying infection with Candida albicans in the context of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Adrian Feile, MSc.

Adrian studies Molecular Medicine. He works on the generation of stem cell based intestinal models to study quorum sensing of the human pathogen Vibrio cholera

research interests:

stem cells, gut-on-chip, microbiota, infection, cholera disease

Melanie Ulrich

Melanie is medical technical laboratory assistant. She's responsible for primary cell isolation, handling of iPS cells, cell culture routine and lab organisation.

Nora Mosig

Nora is medical technical laboratory assistant with completed 1st state examination in human medicine. She's responsible for cultivation and characterisation of microorganisms, hiPSC and primary cells culture.

Paula Zachen

Paula studies Human Medicine and is currently doing her MD thesis. She studies the role of peripheral immune cells as vectors of dissemination in systemic S. aureus infection