HCKH - PI Tobias Huber - Hamburg Center for Kidney Health

Laboratory for molecular and translational nephrology

Tobias B. Huber

Tobias B. Huber

Mission Statement

“Enabling and performing excellence in clinical and molecular nephrology”

— Tobias B. Huber, MD

Team Members

Study nurse

Marigona Agushi

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

PhD student

Karl King Alornyo

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Post-Doc

Lilas Batool, PhD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

PhD Student

Michelle Bouchard

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Junior Group Leader

Fabian Braun, MD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

MD student

Berk Cantutan

Technician

Silvia Chilla

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Clinician Scientist

Jan Czogalla, MD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Technician

Ilka Edenhofer

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Junior Group Leader

Tilo Freiwald, MD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CLINICIAN SCIENTIST

Sydney Gies, MD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

MD student

Maja Gunkel

Post Doc

Yubing Guo, PhD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

PhD student

Paris Hazelton-Cavill

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Clinician Scientist

Felicitas Hengel, MD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

MD student

Julius Jäger

Junior Group Leader

Sybille Köhler, PhD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Study nurse

Inga Komisarenko

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Head of Electron Microscopy Facility

Oliver Kretz, MD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Post Doc

Sandra Laufer, PhD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Post Doc

Dinh To Le, PhD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Study nurse

Samaneh Liagos

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

MD student

Zhouning Liao

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

PhD student

Nastassia Liaukouskaya

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

LABORATORY HEAD/HEAD OF BIOBANK

Maja Lindenmeyer, PhD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Post Doc

Shuya Liu, PhD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Post Doc

Shun Lu, PhD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Clinician Scientist

Maya Machalitza, MD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Clinician Scientist

Elisabeth Meister, MD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Post Doc

Ming Huang, PhD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Post Doc

Anne Mühlig, MD/PhD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Research Coordination

Christiane Neuber, PhD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Technician

Valerie Oberüber

Technician

Anja Obser

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

MD student

Alexander Pausch

MD student

Götz Rövenstrunk

Technician

Melanie Schaper

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Clinician Scientist

Christian Schmidt-Lauber, MD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Head of Research Management

Kristina Schulz, PhD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Post Doc

Pamella Marie Sendon, PhD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

LABORATORY HEAD/JUNIOR GROUP LEADER

Nicola Wanner, PhD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Clinician Scientist

Birte Wöhner, MD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Post Doc

Guochao Wu

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Laboratory Head/Group Leader

Gunther Zahner, PhD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Technician

Nina Ziegert

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Assistant Professor

Marina Zimmermann, PhD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Post Doc

Nikolay Zolotarev, PhD

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Research

Created with BioRender

We aim at a better understanding of podocytopathies, the identification of complex principles of kidney diseases, immune -tissue interactions and interorgan signaling. For this purpose, our lab is advancing the following research areas:

Modern tissue banks and patient registries by means of complex data analysis and attention to data security
Multidimensional techniques for tissue analysis and single-cell biology
Application and development of experimental models for the precise analysis of disease mechanisms
New strategies of gene- and cell targeting in the kidney
Development of translational platforms for the transfer of molecular findings into novel therapies

With this, our aim is to identify new approaches for the prevention, halt and cure of kidney diseases.

Tobias B. Huber, MD

Chair of the Center of Internal Medicine
Director of the III. Department of Medicine

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

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CV

Current Position

Chair of the Center of Internal Medicine
Director of the III. Department of Medicine

University Training

1992 - 1999

School of Medicine (10/1992-05/1999), Universities of Freiburg, Vienna (Austria) and South Florida (Tampa, USA)

Academic qualifications

2020 - 2020	Chair of the Center of Internal Medicine, UKE
2017	Director of the III. Department of Medicine, UKE
2015	Chief of the Division of Chronic Kidney Disease, University Medical Center Freiburg (UKF), Germany
2013	W3 Heisenberg Professor, UKF
2008	German Board Certification for Internal Medicine (2008) and Nephrology (2011)
2007	Habilitation, UKF
2005	USMLE US-American Full Medical Licence
1999	MD in Physiology (summa cum laude), Department of Physiology, UKF

Previous professional career

Clinical postgraduate education:

2015 - 2017	Deputy Chair, Department of Medicine IV, UKF
2011 - 2015	Senior Attending (Geschäftsführender Oberarzt), UKF
2008 - 2011	Attending Physician, Department of Medicine IV, UKF
2001 - 2003	Fellow in Medicine, Department of Medicine IV, UKF
1999 - 2001	Residency, Department of Medicine IV, UKF

Scientific postgraduate education:

2013 - 2017	W3 Heisenberg Professorship, UKF
2006 - 2011	Emmy Noether Programme – Phase II / Group leader, UKF
2003 - 2006	Emmy Noether Programme – Phase I / Postdoctoral Fellow, Immunology & Pathology, Washington University St. Louis, USA (Laboratory of Prof. Dr. A. Shaw)

Selected awards and honors

2021 - 2020	Elected Member of the National Academy of Sciences – Leopoldina-
2021	Elected Member of the American Association of Physicians
2021	Chair Else Kröner-Fresenius Clinician-Scientist Kolleg “iPRIME-CS”, UKE
2021	Co-Chair BMBF-Advanced Clinician Scientist Program “iSTAR”, UKE
2020	Speaker (together with U. Panzer) of the CRC 1192
2020	DFG-Senate Commission on Key Questions in Clinical Research
2018	Chair Else Kröner-Fresenius MD-Thesis Kolleg “iPRIME”, UKE
2016	Co-Chair Else Kröner-Fresenius Kolleg “NAKSYS”, UKF
2014	Recipient of the European Research Council Grant
2014	Elected Member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation
2012	Young Investigator Award of the American Society of Nephrology (considered the worldwide highest award for renal research < 45 years)
2010	Franz-Volhard Award of the German Renal Society
2009	Hans U. Zollinger Research Award of German Renal Society
2008	Associated Member of the BIOSS Excellence Cluster, Freiburg
2006	Principal Investigator of the SGBM Graduate School, Freiburg
2004	Carl Ludwig Award of the German Renal Society

Selected publications

1.	Autoantibodies Targeting Nephrin in Podocytopathies. Hengel FE, Dehde S, Lassé M, Zahner G, Seifert L, Schnarre A, Kretz O, Demir F, Pinnschmidt HO, Grahammer F, Lucas R, Mehner LM, Zimmermann T, Billing AM, Oh J, Mitrotti A, Pontrelli P, Debiec H, Dossier C, Colucci M, Emma F, Smoyer WE, Weins A, Schaefer F, Alachkar N, Diemert A, Hogan J, Hoxha E, Wiech T, Rinschen MM, Ronco P, Vivarelli M, Gesualdo L, Tomas NM, Huber TB; International Society of Glomerular Disease. N Engl J Med. 2024 Aug 1;391(5):422-433.
2.	Accumulation of α-synuclein 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 A, 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 Jun 1;133(11):e157782. doi: 10.1172/JCI157782.
3.	Expansion-enhanced super-resolution radial fluctuations enable nanoscale molecular profiling of pathology specimens. Kylies D, Zimmermann M, Haas F, Schwerk M, Kuehl M, Brehler M, Czogalla J, Hernandez LC, Konczalla L, Okabayashi Y, Menzel J, Edenhofer I, Mezher S, Aypek H, Dumoulin B, Wu H, Hofmann S, Kretz O, Wanner N, Tomas NM, Krasemann S, Glatzel M, Kuppe C, Kramann R, Banjanin B, Schneider RK, Urbschat C, Arck P, Gagliani N, van Zandvoort M, Wiech T, Grahammer F, Sáez PJ, Wong MN, Bonn S, Huber TB, Puelles VG. Nat Nanotechnol. 2023 Apr;18(4):336-342. doi: 10.1038/s41565-023-01328-z.
4.	Loss of the collagen IV modifier prolyl 3-hydroxylase 2 causes thin basement membrane nephropathy Aypek H, Krisp C, Lu S, Liu S, Kylies D, Kretz O, Wu G, Moritz M, Amann K, Benz K, Tong P, Hu ZM, Alsulaiman SM, Khan AO, Grohmann M, Wagner T, Müller-Deile J, Schlüter H, Puelles VG, Bergmann C, Huber TB, Grahammer F. J Clin Invest. 2022 May 2;132(9):e147253. doi: 10.1172/JCI147253.
5.	Molecular consequences of SARS-CoV-2 liver tropism. Wanner N, Andrieux G, Badia-i-Mompel P, Edler C, Pfefferle S, Lindenmeyer M, 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. doi: 10.1038/s42255-022-00552-6.
6.	Pro-cachectic factors link experimental and human chronic kidney disease to skeletal muscle wasting programs. Solagna F, Tezze C, Lindenmeyer MT, Lu S, Wu G, Liu S, Zhao Y, Mitchell R, Meyer C, Omairi S, Kilic T, Paolini A, Ritvos O, Pasternack A, Matsakas A, Kylies D, Wiesch JS zur, Turner J-E, Wanner N, Nair V, Eichinger F, Menon R, Martin I V., Klinkhammer BM, Hoxha E, Cohen CD, Tharaux P-L, Boor P, Ostendorf T, Kretzler M, Sandri M, Kretz O, Puelles VG, Patel K, Huber TB. J Clin Invest. 2021 Jun 1;131(11). doi: 10.1172/JCI135821.
7.	Decoding myofibroblast origins in human kidney fibrosis. Kuppe C, Ibrahim MM, Kranz J, Zhang X, Ziegler S, Perales-Patón J, Jansen J, Reimer KC, Smith JR, Dobie R, Wilson-Kanamori JR, Halder M, Xu Y, Kabgani N, Kaesler N, Klaus M, Gernhold L, Puelles VG, Huber TB, Boor P, Menzel S, Hoogenboezem RM, Bindels EMJ, Steffens J, Floege J, Schneider RK, Saez-Rodriguez J, Henderson NC, Kramann R. Nature. 2021 Jan;589(7841):281-286. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2941-1.
8.	Podocytes maintain high basal levels of autophagy independent of mtor signaling. Bork T, Liang W, Yamahara K, Lee P, Tian Z, Liu S, Schell C, Thedieck K, Hartleben B, Patel K, Tharaux P-L, Lenoir O, Huber TB. Autophagy. 2020 Nov 1;16(11):1932–48. doi: 10.1080/15548627.2019.1705007.
9.	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. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31759-1.
10.	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. doi: 10.1056/NEJMc2011400.