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Rebirth Flyer

Apr 04, 2018

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    From RegenerativeBiology

    to ReconstructiveTherapy

    Hannover Medical School& Partners

    Cluster of Excellence

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    The goal o the Excellence Initiative

    is to strengthen cutting-edge researchin Germany and to improve its inter-national competitiveness. Outstan-ding projects are unded as Clusterso Excellence which ocus the research

    potential at university locations in Germany and, hence, streng-

    then their international visibility.With the enthusiastic support o six important partner institu-

    tions, Hannover Medical School (MHH) has estab-lished a Cluster o Excellence in the area o

    Regenerative Biology and Reconstruc-tive Therapies , acronym REBIRTH.

    REBIRTH receives unding over a peri-od o ve years with an average bud-get o 6.5 million euros per year.

    REBIRTH - Optimal partner

    Our programme integrates excellenttraining with innovative science and ex-perimental as well as clinical medicine.Interactive basic research projects aredesigned to identi y and evaluate cellularand molecular mediators that stimulateregeneration.

    We test new approaches or regenerativetherapies using novel (i possible somatic) cell sources which weengineer applying genetic, epigenetic, as well as sca old-basedprinciples. Expertise in various elds o engineering, chemistry,

    biophotonics and nanotechnology supports and supplements ourresearch and development.

    Toward patient- ocused, applied studies, the existing wide ran-ge o certi ed/accredited acilities or Good Practice (laboratory,

    The Hans Borst Center or Heart and Stem Cell Research was unded with13.5 million euros by theBraukmann-WittenbergHeart Foundation.Since May 2008 13 o 40working groups are based in the new building.

    Establishing an excellentcluster

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    manu acturing and clinical) and close industrial collaborations

    will be urther expanded. Upscaling technologies and pro-activebiosa ety assessment complete our translational activities.

    Based upon MHHs recent key achievements and priorities weocus on disorders o blood (including immunity), heart , lung

    (respiratory tract), liver, and pancreatic beta cells.

    REBIRTH - Cluster o Excellence in the area o Regenerative Biologand Reconstructive Therapies. We ocus on disorders o blood (including immunity), heart, lung (respiratory tract) and liver in a disease speci c way.

    Human Resources

    Established Therapy

    Area A Regenerative

    Biology Phylogeny Ontogeny Milieu Cell Proliferation (Epi) Genetics

    Blood Heart Lung Liver

    FunctionStemness

    Area BReconstructive

    Therapy Tissue Engineering/

    FunctionalizedImplants

    Cell Therapy Regenerative Agents

    Approval

    Reprogramming Differentiation

    Area C GLP, GMP, GCP Upscaling MolTox/ Pathology Imaging

    Good practice and Pharmacovigilance

    Clinical trials

    Feedback

    Area D Education

    Ethics Public Relations

    Disease models

    Cultural Diversity

    Gender Equity

    Thereby, REBIRTH represents an optimal partner or other dome-stic and international centres in regenerative medicine.

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    Rational drug design produces

    iso orm-speci c inhibitorsthat target a novel allosteric binding site in myosin.

    Hannover Medical School Max Planck Institute or Molecular Biomedicine, Mnster

    Our basic research activities in Area

    A are conducted by two collaborati-ve research units that ocus on StemCell Biology and Regeneration andOrganogenesis . Key objectives o our work programme are to obtaindeeper insights into the basic mecha-

    nisms o genetic and epigenetic re-programming, allowing us to develop

    novel pluripotent cell sources potentially derived rom postnatal tis-sues, and to control their di erentiation with subsequent robust unc-tional tests.

    Discovering novel therapeutic targetsThe eld o stem cell biology will receive a new twist by addressing thebiochemical and genetic basis that orms the sweet sur ace o stem

    cells, with potentially immense implicationsor their homing, migration, di eren-

    tiation and labeling. Furthermore,we wish to identi y key players

    o organogenesis and compa-re these to the regulators o milieu-dependent regene-ration. Finally, we exploreintrinsic and extrinsic limi-tations o regeneration by

    studying mechanisms o cellcycle control, senescence and

    ageing. This work is designed todiscover novel therapeutic targets

    and methods. Area A has multiple in-teractions with Area B.

    Area A:RegenerativeBiology andRelated

    Sciences

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    Helmholtz Centre or In ectionResearch, Braunschweig

    Federal Research Centre or Animal Health, Mariensee

    C

    h r i s t i a n R

    i c h t e r s

    , M n s t e r

    Area B connects insights rom

    Area A with input rom clinicalpractice and translational plat-orms (Area C). To replace dys-unctional organs and tissues or

    to restore their unction, we o-cus on cell therapy and tissue

    engineering .The search or novel regenerative

    agents and biomaterials is embedded in these activities.

    In preclinical models o human diseases a ecting lymphohaema-topoietic system, heart, lung, liver and pancreatic beta cells, we

    address the therapeutic options provided by di erent cell sources(adult vs. embryonic) and the combination o cell therapy with rege-nerative agents.

    Therapeutic initiatives conducted in networksThis research is fanked by programmes investigating modes o indu-

    cing tolerance to cells that are not entirely sel . Most o our thera-peutic initiatives are coupled to ongoing clinical trials, some o whichare conducted in national and international networks. Especially orcardiovascular and pulmonary indications, we will study the potentialo clinically applicable 3-dimensional bioarti cial tissue composed o cell-seeded biological or synthetic matrices.

    This includes the unctionalization o synthetic (and biodegradable)implants by nanostructuring, coating with bioactive compounds andpre-implantation cell seeding. Novel technologies based on biome-chanics and photonics connect regenerative medicine with physical,mechanical and chemical sciences .

    Area B:ReconstructiveTherapy inPreclinical

    Models

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    Leibniz University o Hannover University o Veterinary Medicine Hannover

    For mammalian cell cultivation pro-

    cesses, main research topics arethe infuence o environmental para-meters such as shear stress, tempe-rature and toxic metabolites on cell

    behaviour and productivity.

    Area C will supply important tech-

    nological platforms or Areas A andB and will be essential or translati-on o developments rom Area B intoclinical application. To ollow the e -

    ects o recombinant agents andmodi ed cells or tissues in vivo, we will urther strengthen our invest-

    ments in bioimaging and cell marking (genetic and phenotypic), andstudy the long-term integrity o engineered and clonally expanded cellpopulations in the homeostatic, stressed and ageing organism (inter-action with Areas A & B).

    Including integrated concept for GXP

    Included in this global assessment are the derivation, expansion, ma-nipulation, and characterization o human stem cell lines, as well aspreclinical e cacy and toxicity testing in appropriate animal models.Large-scale cell expansion and biocompatibility testing are urtherimportant translational topics. Potential toxicity will be primarilyaddressed by investigating genetic and epigenetic instability and in-appropriate di erentiation. Our translational activities include an

    integrated concept orGXP: good practice

    or laboratory, manu ac-turing and clinical work(GLP GMP GCP).Clinical projects are su-pervised to guaranteehighest quality alreadyin preclinical data collec-tion, product design,biocompatibility testing

    and nally the conception, conductand data management o clinicaltrials.

    Area C:Translation

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    Laser Zentrum, Hannover Fraunho er ITEM, Hannover

    REBIRTH considers the promotion and

    integration o young scientists andthe gender equality programme askey indicators o its per ormance. Theemphasis on education and equality is an integral component o our scien-

    ti c programmes, and we believe that an own Area dedicated to these

    important topics is as relevant or the long-term success o REBIRTHas the quality o our research activities.

    Establishing an interdisciplinary PhD programmeThe rst step in this direction was the establishment o an interdisci-plinary international PhD programme Regenerative Sciences. It co-

    vers all crucial topics ranging rom basic biology o regeneration overprinciples o engineering technologies (materials, cells, tissues) to cli-nical study design and related questions (good practice, process de-velopment, regulatory, economical and ethical issues). As part o allactivities, REBIRTH will also strengthen the investment o its partici-pating institutions to promote gender equality.

    Supporting career developmentOne component o this task is to implement e ective career develop-ment measures. These shall be urther expanded to include long-termcareer perspectives o international colleagues in Germany. An inte-grated approach to increase diversity and obtain long-term eedbacko alumni is thus a logical consequence o our work.

    Area D:HumanResources

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    We envision that REBIRTHwill reach the ollowing goals:

    n to orm a centre or basic and translational studies on stemcells and tissue engineering in hematopoietic, cardio-vascu-lar, respiratory and hepatopancreatic medicine, leading toinnovative therapeutic strategies

    n to create an internationally renowned major player in the

    design and implementation o regenerative clinical studieswith a strong emphasis on biosa ety and predictability

    n to realise trans- and intrainstitutional networking by orming dual leaderships o clinical departments and technical/natu-ralscientifc institutes with a regenerative ocus

    n to strengthen our position as an attractive national and inter-national networker, characterized by an interdisciplinaryculture o open-minded, hypothesis-driven and innovativeresearch.

    REBIRTH - Cluster o ExcellenceHannover Medical SchoolCarl-Neuberg-Str. 130625 Hannover, Niedersachsen, GermanyCoordinator: Pro essor Dr. Axel HaverichBusiness Manager: Tilman Fabian

    Tel: +49 511 532 - 5204Fax: +49 511 532 - 5205in [email protected]

    Long-termobjectives

    Cluster of ExcellenceFrom Regenerative Biology to Reconstructive Therapy

    M a r c

    h 2 0 0 9