HCKH - PI Fabian Braun - Hamburg Center for Kidney Health

Laboratory for renal intercellular communication via extracellular vesicles

Fabian Braun

Fabian Braun

Mission Statement

“Decipher the intercellular crosstalk via extracellular vesicles in health, glomerular diseases and acute kidney injury to identify novel disease pathways and establish innovative diagnostics”

— Dr. med. Fabian Braun

Team Members

The Braun lab is always looking for scientists (PhD, PostDoc) and technicians to investigate immune mediated glomerular disease, glomerulosclerosis, Fabry’s disease and acute kidney injury. Please get in touch with your CV via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.!

Post Doc

Pamella Marie Sendon, PhD

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PhD Student

Anna Reinelt

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MD student

Alexander Pausch

Technician

Anja Obser

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MD Student

Annika Gathmann

Research

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been identified to be critical contributors to cancer cell biology, immune mediation and metabolic signalling. EVs are small membrane bound packages that contain specific proteins, nucleic acids and lipid cargo, facilitating intercellular signalling across great distances. Because of this, the use of EVs as a source for biomarkers has drawn significant attention. Yet, in nephrology, we currently lack 1) a concise understanding of cell-specific vesicle release and content, 2) how renal cells communicate through vesicles and 3) what effect different diseases exert on these parameters. Our group aims to characterize the release and cargo of small and medium-sized extracellular vesicles of podocytes and proximal tubular cells to identify alterations upon cellular damage in glomerular diseases and acute kidney injury. To facilitate this, we employ and establish advanced disease modeling in mice, rats and organoids investigating immune mediated glomerular disease, glomerulosclerosis, Fabry’s disease and acute kidney injury.

Fabian Braun, MD

Research Group Leader

III. Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE)
Martinistr. 52
20246 Hamburg, Germany

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CV

Current Position

since 2023	Managing Attending, III. Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg- Eppendorf
since 2023	Attending Physician at the Martin Zeitz Center for Rare Diseases
since 2022	Research Group leader supported by the iSTAR program for advanced clinician scientists
since 2018	Physician, III. Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg- Eppendorf, Prof. Dr. Tobias B. Huber

University Training

2006 - 2012

Study of Medicine, University of Cologne, Germany

Academic qualifications

2024	Board Certification in Nephrology and Internal Medicine
2022	Board Certification in Internal Medicine
2013 - 2017- 2020	Clinician Scientist at the Department II of Internal Medicine and Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, Germany
2011 - 2014	MD Thesis:  „The molecular pathogenesis of Fabry disease in human podocytes“ at the Department II of Internal Medicine and Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, Germany, supported for one year by the „Köln Fortune“ scholarship program

Previous professional career

Clinical postgraduate education:

since 2018	Physician, III. Department of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg- Eppendorf, Prof. Dr. Tobias B. Huber
2013 - 2017	Physician, Department II of Internal Medicine and Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne, University of Cologne, Germany

Scientific postgraduate education:

starting 2023	iSTAR Program for Advanced Clinician Scientists
since 2021	Clinician Scientist through an Else-Kröner Memorial-Scholarship
2019 - 2020	Gerok Position at the CRC 1192: Immune-Mediated Glomerular Diseases

Selected awards and honors

2022 - 2020	Teacher of the Year 2022 – for Module E awarded by the Students and faculty of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf
2021	Research Scholarship 2021 of the German Society of Nephrology, Berlin, Germany
2020	Paper of the Month, August 2020, Braun et al., SARS-CoV-2 renal tropism associates with acute kidney injury, The Lancet

Selected publications

1.	Unlocking the potential of extracellular vesicles in nephrology: what does MISEV2023 add? Ng MSY, Burger D, Svenningsen P, Martens E, Erdbrügger U, Braun F. Kidney Int. 2025 Jan;107(1):44-50.
2.	An integrated organoid omics map extends modeling potential of kidney disease. Lassé M, El Saghir J, Berthier CC, Eddy S, Fischer M, Laufer SD, Kylies D, Hutzfeldt A, Bonin LL, Dumoulin B, Menon R, Vega-Warner V, Eichinger F, Alakwaa F, Fermin D, Billing AM, Minakawa A, McCown PJ, Rose MP, Godfrey B, Meister E, Wiech T, Noriega M, Chrysopoulou M, Brandts P, Ju W, Reinhard L, Hoxha E, Grahammer F, Lindenmeyer MT, Huber TB, Schlüter H, Thiel S, Mariani LH, Puelles VG, Braun F, Kretzler M, Demir F, Harder JL, Rinschen MM. Nat Commun. 2023 Aug 14;14(1):4903.
3.	Synuclein α accumulation mediates podocyte injury in Fabry nephropathy. Braun F, Abed A, Sellung D, Rogg M, Woidy M, Eikrem O, Wanner N, Gambardella J, Laufer SD, Haas F, Wong MN, Dumoulin B, Rischke P, Mühlig AK, Sachs W, von Cossel K, Schulz K, Muschol N, Gersting SW, Muntau AC, Kretz O, Hahn O, Rinschen MM, Mauer M, Bork T, Grahammer F, Liang W, Eierhoff T, Römer W, Hansen A, Meyer-Schwesinger C, Iaccarino G, Tøndel C, Marti HP, Najafian B, Puelles VG, Schell C, Huber TB. J Clin Invest. 2023 Apr 4:e157782.
4.	Molecular consequences of SARS-CoV-2 liver tropism. Wanner N, Andrieux G, Badia-I-Mompel P, Edler C, Pfefferle S, Lindenmeyer MT, Schmidt-Lauber C, Czogalla J, Wong MN, Okabayashi Y, Braun F, Lütgehetmann M, Meister E, Lu S, Noriega MLM, Günther T, Grundhoff A, Fischer N, Bräuninger H, Lindner D, Westermann D, Haas F, Roedl K, Kluge S, Addo MM, Huber S, Lohse AW, Reiser J, Ondruschka B, Sperhake JP, Saez-Rodriguez J, Boerries M, Hayek SS, Aepfelbacher M, Scaturro P, Puelles VG, Huber TB. Nat Metab. 2022 Mar;4(3):310-319.
5.	SARS-CoV-2 renal tropism associates with acute kidney injury. Braun F, Lütgehetmann M, Pfefferle S, Wong MN, Carsten A, Lindenmeyer MT, Nörz D, Heinrich F, Meißner K, Wichmann D, Kluge S, Gross O, Pueschel K, Schröder AS, Edler C, Aepfelbacher M, Puelles VG, Huber TB. Lancet. 2020 Aug;396(10251):597–8.
6.	Multiorgan and Renal Tropism of SARS-CoV-2. Puelles VG, Lütgehetmann M, Lindenmeyer MT, Sperhake JP, Wong MN, Allweiss L, Chilla S, Heinemann A, Wanner N, Liu S, Braun F, Lu S, Pfefferle S, Schröder AS, Edler C, Gross O, Glatzel M, Wichmann D, Wiech T, Kluge S, Pueschel K, Aepfelbacher M, Huber TB. N Engl J Med. 2020 Aug 6;383(6):590–2.
7.	The proteomic landscape of small urinary extracellular vesicles during kidney transplantation. Braun F, Rinschen M, Buchner D, Bohl K, Plagmann I, Bachurski D, Richard Späth M, Antczak P, Göbel H, Klein C, Lackmann JW, Kretz O, Puelles VG, Wahba R, Hallek M, Schermer B, Benzing T, Huber TB, Beyer A, Stippel D, Kurschat CE, Müller RU. J Extracell Vesicles. 2020 Oct;10(1):e12026.
8.	Enzyme Replacement Therapy Clears Gb3 Deposits from a Podocyte Cell Culture Model of Fabry Disease but Fails to Restore Altered Cellular Signaling. Braun F, Blomberg L, Brodesser S, Liebau MC, Schermer B, Benzing T, Kurschat CE. Cell Physiol Biochem. 2019;52(5):1139-1150.
9.	Urine-derived cells: a promising diagnostic tool in Fabry disease patients. Slaats GG, Braun F, Hoehne M, Frech LE, Blomberg L, Benzing T, Schermer B, Rinschen MM, Kurschat CE. Sci Rep. 2018 Jul 23;8(1):11042.
10.	Altered lipid metabolism in the aging kidney identified by three layered omic analysis. Braun F, Rinschen MM, Bartels V, Frommolt P, Habermann B, Hoeijmakers JH, Schumacher B, Dollé ME, Müller RU, Benzing T, Schermer B, Kurschat CE. Aging (Albany NY). 2016 Mar;8(3):441-57.