NeuroScienceLab

Dirk Hermann studied medicine at Justus Liebig University Gießen from 1987-1994. Following his MD thesis at the same University in 1995 and a residency (Arzt im Praktikum) at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry Munich in 1994-1995, he performed a postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Neurological Research Cologne in 1995-1998, followed by his residency at the Department of Neurology of Eberhard Karls University Tübingen in 1998-2001. Following his neurological board examination in 2001 and his state doctorate (habilitation) in 2002, Dirk Hermann was associate professor and consultant neurologist at the University Hospital Zurich (Switzerland) in 2002-2008. Since 2008, Dirk Hermann holds the Chair of Vascular Neurology, Dementia and Ageing Research at the University of Duisburg-Essen.  

Dirk Hermann’s research focusses on post-ischemic brain remodeling and plasticity, evaluating pathomechanisms contributing to secondary brain injury and searching strategies that promote neurological recovery in the post-acute stroke phase. Research activities include studies on post-ischemic axonal, dendritic and synaptic plasticity, angiogenesis, extracellular matrix remodeling, immune responses and vascular risk factors. Dirk Hermann’s group has long-lasting experience and skills in the evaluation of post-ischemic blood-brain barrier integrity. The group bridges in vitro and in vivo studies in animals and humans, combining structural and functional readouts with a broad set of research tools. 

Bacigaluppi M, Pluchino S, Peruzzotti-Jametti L, Kilic E, Kilic U, Salani G, Brambilla E, West MJ, Comi G, Martino G, Hermann DM. Delayed post-ischaemic neuroprotection following systemic neural stem cell transplantation involves multiple mechanisms. Brain. 2009; 132:2239-51.

ElAli A, Hermann DM. Apolipoprotein E controls ATP-binding cassette transporters in the ischemic brain. Sci Signal. 2010; 3:ra72. 

Hermann DM, Bassetti CL. Implications of ATP-binding cassette transporters for brain pharmacotherapies. Trends Pharmacol Sci. 2007; 28:128-34.

Hermann DM, Chopp M. Promoting brain remodelling and plasticity for stroke recovery: therapeutic promise and potential pitfalls of clinical translation. Lancet Neurol. 2012; 11:369-80.

Hermann DM, ElAli A. The abluminal endothelial membrane in neurovascular remodeling in health and disease. Sci Signal. 2012; 5:re4.

Kilic E, Spudich A, Kilic U, Rentsch KM, Vig R, Matter CM, Wunderli-Allenspach H, Fritschy JM, Bassetti CL, Hermann DM. ABCC1: a gateway for pharmacological compounds to the ischaemic brain. Brain. 2008; 131:2679-89.

Reitmeir R, Kilic E, Kilic U, Bacigaluppi M, ElAli A, Salani G, Pluchino S, Gassmann M, Hermann DM. Post-acute delivery of erythropoietin induces stroke recovery by promoting perilesional tissue remodelling and contralesional pyramidal tract plasticity. Brain. 2011; 134:84-99.

Reitmeir R, Kilic E, Reinboth BS, Guo Z, ElAli A, Zechariah A, Kilic U, Hermann DM. Vascular endothelial growth factor induces contralesional corticobulbar plasticity and functional neurological recovery in the ischemic brain. Acta Neuropathol. 2012; 123:273-84.

Spudich A, Kilic E, Xing H, Kilic U, Rentsch KM, Wunderli-Allenspach H, Bassetti CL, Hermann DM. Inhibition of multidrug resistance transporter-1 facilitates neuroprotective therapies after focal cerebral ischemia. Nat Neurosci. 2006; 9:487-8. 

Christoph Kleinschnitz studied medicine at the Würzburg University from 1994 to 2000. Following his doctorate in 2001, he performed his residency at the Department of Neurology of the University Hospital Wurzburg and qualified as a neurologist in 2007. In 2009, he became head of the stroke unit and out-patient clinic, in which cerebrovascular disorders are treated. From 2010, he also led the Clinical Research Group for multiple sclerosis and neuroimmunology and soon later, he became executive consultant of the Department of Neurology and professor at the University Hospital Würzburg. He has received several prizes for his pioneering works.

His research focuses on thrombo-inflammatory disease mechanisms in stroke and multiple sclerosis, with strong translational focus. Together with his team, Prof. Kleinschnitz is aiming to identify new biomarkers and therapeutic targets that allow improving stroke treatment without the risk of adverse events.  

Göbel K, …, Kleinschnitz C, Meuth SG. Blood coagulation factor XII drives adaptive immunity during neuroinflammation via CD87-mediated modulation of dendritic cells. Nature Commun. 2016; 7:11626.

Hopp S, …, Kleinschnitz C. Targeting coagulation factor XII as a novel therapeutic option in brain trauma. Ann Neurol. 2016; 79:970-82.

Kraft P, …, Kleinschnitz C. Efficacy and safety of platelet glycoprotein receptor blockade in aged and comorbid mice with acute experimental stroke. Stroke. 2015; 46:3502-6.

Schleicher RI, …, Kleinschnitz C, …, Langer HF. Platelets induce apoptosis via membrane-bound FasL. Blood. 2015; 126:1483-93.

Verhenne S, …, Kleinschnitz C, …, De Meyer SF. Platelet-derived VWF is not essential for normal thrombosis and hemostasis but fosters ischemic stroke injury in mice. Blood. 2015; 126:1715-22.

Mezger M, …, Kleinschnitz C, Langer HF. Platelets and vascular inflammation of the brain. Hamostaseologie. 2015; 35:244-51.

Göb E, …, Kleinschnitz C. Blocking of plasma kallikrein ameliorates stroke by reducing thromboinflammation. Ann Neurol. 2015; 77:784-803.

Schuhmann MK, …, Kleinschnitz C. CD28 superagonist-mediated boost of regulatory T cells increases thrombo-inflammation and ischemic neurodegeneration during the acute phase of experimental stroke. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2015; 35:6-10.

Kleinschnitz C, …, Wiendl H. Regulatory T cells are strong promoters of acute ischemic stroke in mice by inducing dysfunction of the cerebral microvasculature. Blood 2013; 121:679-91.

Langhauser F, …, Kleinschnitz C. Kininogen deficiency protects from ischemic neurodegeneration in mice by reducing thrombosis, blood-brain barrier damage, and inflammation. Blood. 2012; 120:4082-92.