Prof. Dr. Dr. Ralf Hass

Scholarships/awards

Fellowships/awards:

1985
Fellowship from the Schilling-Stiftung Foundation for studies at the University of California, San Diego, (UCSD) CA, USA

1986
Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation for studies at Boehringer Ingelheim, Richfield, CT and at the New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, USA

1988
Ph.D. award from the Fonds of the Chemical Industry

1990 - 1992
Two-year post-doc fellowship from the German Research Foundation (DFG) for studies at the Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

1993 - 1995
Two-year habilitation fellowship and research grant from the German Research Foundation (DFG) for studies at the Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

1996
Post-Habilitation fellowship from the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation

2004
Mentor for research fellows in the International Academy of Life Science (IALS) (www.lifesciences.net)

2016
Honorary membership of the Signal Transduction Society (STS) (www.sigtrans.de)

2020
Heinrich-Maass-memory award for breast cancer research

Current research projects

present research project

BIOCHEMISTRY and TUMOR BIOLOGY lab
clinic of Gynecology

The interdisciplinarity of our projects provide an excellent platform to translate our stem cell research, particularly with respect to mesenchymal stroma/stem cells (MSC) and MSC-derived components such as exosomes, along in vivo models further into the clinic. Initial clinical trials allow optimistic future perspectives to pursue a potentially beneficial use of our stem cell preparations and their products (e.g. exosomes) in various human diseases.

1.  stem cells and exosomes

• stem cell isolation (mesenchymal stroma-/stem-like cells = MSC) derived from different tissues and prospective clinical applications

a) characterization and expansion of MSC in vitro culture

b) differentiation of MSC along specialized maturation pathways

c) Clinical application possibilities of MSC for regenerative and/or curative effects during injuries/different diseases

d) Isolation and characterization of MSC-derived exosomes for potential clinical applications

e) application possibilities of MSC-derived exosomes as a cell-free system for regenerative and/or curative effects during injuries and various different diseases

f) In addition to a successful use in life-threatening conditions such as chronic kidney disease (CKD) or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a therapeutic attempt involving repeated infusions of MSC-derived exosomes and released metabolites successfully treated a 3-year-old girl suffering from life-threatening pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)—a condition for which all other treatment options had been exhausted at that time (https://www.mhh.de/presse-news/dank-nabelschnur-stammzellen-erstmals-therapieerfolg-bei-schwerem-lungenhochdruck).

2.  patient-specific anti-tumor medicine

• Establishment of tumor primary cultures (mammary and ovarian carcinoma) of patients following tumor surgery or biopsy

a) molecular characterization of cancer cell proliferation and associated signaling mechanisms

b) role of estrogens and gestagens (HRT) in primary cultures of mammary carcinoma

c) role of different chemotherapeutic compounds in primary tumors and tissue metastases

d) personalized anti-tumor medicine: inhibition of distinct signal pathways in tumor-derived primary cultures to optimize patient-specific chemotherapeutic concentrations( à personalized chemosensitivity assays)

e) role of pharmacokinetic and chronobiological modifications on tumor primary cultures

3. tumor heterogeneity by cancer cell fusion and therapeutic intervention using exosomes

• Spontaneous cell fusion following co-culture of MSC together with cancer cells and generation of new cancer cell populations after fusion with MSC

a) Characterization of new cancer cell populations in vitro and in vivo

b) identification of cancer stem cells after fusion or by retrodifferentiation

c) Characterization of tumor-therapeutic approaches to target the new cancer hybrid cells

d) application of MSC-derived exosomes (see above) as a vehicle for a tumor- specific addressing of chemotherapeutic agents

4. establishment of patient-specific tumor models

• Development of the SCCOHT-1 cell line as the first SCCOHT cell culture model worldwide in 2009; publication of the SCCOHT-1 cell line model after subsequent multi-disciplinary characterization in 2012 and therapy options
• Development of additional unique human cell culture models, such as the promyelocytic leukemia cell line TUR (TPA-U937-resistant), as well as breast cancer hybrid cell lines (MDA-hyb1 to MDA-hyb5), ovarian carcinoma hybrid cells (SK-hyb1 and SK-hyb2), and a human mesenchymal stem cell line (MSC544)

a)  Establishment of tumor-specific primary cultures using a specially-developed method that was patented by the MHH as tissue explant technology.

b)  Testing of various media and culture conditions to optimize cell growth.

c)  Characterization of specific biochemical and cell biological properties of the primary cultures

d)  Immortalization of primary tumor cell cultures while fully preserving their specific biochemical and cell biological properties in vitro and in vivo.

e)  Testing of tumor-specific therapeutic approaches using patient-specific tumor models for a translational approach within the framework of personalized anti-tumor medicine (see above)

references:

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2481-7547