Research focus:

• Inflammation as the driver of pulmonary vascular remodeling in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Interplay of different environmental stimuli in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pulmonary hypertension (PH)

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Disease phenotyping
• Cell culture (co-culture systems)
• Histology
• Imaging (confocal fluorescence imaging)
• Molecular biology (laser-assisted microdissection - LMD)

Early Career Research Group Members:

• Vinita Sharma
• Derrick Opoku
• Katia Pes

Stefan Hadzic's research focuses on lung repair and alveolar–vascular homeostasis in chronic lung diseases, particularly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). His work investigates the developmental programs and cellular mechanisms that regulate tissue maintenance, with a specific focus on developmental disturbances and redox stress as major drivers of susceptibility to vascular alterations and lung function decline. Additionally, he explores the therapeutic potential of reactivating these developmental pathways to reverse structural deterioration and restore functional lung integrity.

Early Career Research Group Members:

• Dana Cojocaru
• Danielle Fomferra
• Edma Loku
• Chudamani Nuguri
• Henrike Treis
• Shen Zixiong
• Ina Ringsdorf

Research focus:

• Molecular mechanisms of vascular ion channels and their role in blood pressure regulation in the context of pulmonary and systemic hypertension

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Disease phenotyping
• Electrophysiology
• Molecular biology (cloning, in vitro transcription, heterologous protein expression, Adeno-associated virus expression vectors)
• Gene-editing techniques (CRISPR/Cas, site-directed mutagenesis)

Research focus:

• Mitochondrial physiology, mitochondria genetics, alternative oxidases in hypoxia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Cytochrome c oxidase remodeling in lung pathophysiology

Expertise:

• Combined high-resolution respirometry and fluorescence spectrometry
• Co-enzyme Q redox measurements
• Cell-free DNA quantification
• Molecular biology
• Imaging (confocal fluorescence imaging)

Research focus:

• Heart dysfunction in pulmonary hypertension (PH)-associated diseases e.g. sleep-disordered breathing, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic exposure to high altitude and left heart disease

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Disease phenotyping
• Project planning and assistance

• Organizational responsibilities in the area of research and education
• Supportive position in compliance with legal regulations in the area of research
• Implementation of seminars and hands-on training of employees

Research focus:

• Ferroptosis in the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension
• Impact of neonatal hyperoxic exposure on lung development and its consequences in adulthood

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Disease phenotyping
• Molecular biology (microRNAs, fluorescence in-situ hybridization, single-cell RNA sequencing)
• Histology (stereology)
• Imaging

Research focus:

• Mitochondria
• Cellular oxygen sensing
• Hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction
• Pulmonary hypertension

Key techniques:

• Electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy for measuring reactive nitrogen/oxygen species (RNS/ROS) and bioenergetic profiling
• Imaging (confocal fluorescence imaging)
• Molecular biology (cloning, CRISPR-Cas technology, Adeno-associated virus expression vectors)

Research focus:

• Identification of novel key proteins involved in pulmonary vascular remodeling and assessing their involvement in vascular cell dysfunction in pulmonary hypertension

Expertise:

• Molecular biology
• Cell culture
• Project coordination
• Quality control

Research focus:

• Cell defense mechanisms against environmental stressors (e.g. cigarette smoke, air pollutants, and hypoxia)
• Molecular mechanisms underlying the development of chronic respiratory diseases (e.g. chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pulmonary hypertension)

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Disease phenotyping
• Cell culture (co-culture systems, air-liquid interface - ALI),
• Molecular biology (transcriptome analyses, capillary-based protein immune assays - JESS, laser-assisted microdissection - LMD)
• Redox biology - electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy for measuring reactive nitrogen/oxygen species (RNS/ROS) and bioenergetic profiling
• Histology (stereology)
• Imaging (live-cell/tissue imaging, confocal fluorescence imaging)
• Imaging analysis (artificial intelligence (AI)-based analyses)

Research focus:

• Lung development and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and the long-term consequences in adults and the role of iNOS in this context

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Disease phenotyping
• Cell culture
• Molecular biology

Research focus:

• Molecular mechanisms of pulmonary vascular remodeling in response to environmental stimuli, with the focus on the metabolic reprogramming of pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cells

Expertise:

• Molecular biology (capillary-based protein immune assays - JESS)
• Cell culture (maintenance and functional characterization of pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cells)
• Advanced microscopy (EVOS M7000 automated imaging systems and high-resolution confocal fluorescence imaging)
• Quantitative image analysis (Celleste, Image-Pro®, artificial intelligence (AI)-based analyses)

Research focus:

• Alveolar epithelial cell plasticity in distal alveolar microenvironment
• Defining how mural cells shape the alveolar epithelial niche and regulate epithelial differentiation dynamics during emphysema development and repair in COPD

Expertise:

• Comprehensive histopathology (classical and multiplex immunostaining, immunocytochemistry, and advanced AI-based image analysis)
• State-of-the-art 2D and 3D imaging (high-resolution confocal microscopy, live-cell imaging, and automated microscopy systems)
• Disease modeling (precision-cut lung slice preparation for functional, structural, and pharmacological studies)
• Disease phenotyping

Research focus:

• Investigating how inflammatory and injury-related stimuli reprogramme pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells, driving vascular remodeling and altering the microenvironment in ways that influence alveolar injury and repair processes

Expertise:

• Molecular biology (mRNA expression analysis, capillary-based protein immune assays - JESS)
• Cell culture (alveolar type 2 cells, pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells, and fibroblasts in 2D submerged and Air-Liquid Interface culture/co-culture)
• Flow cytometry and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS)

Research focus:

• Mitochondrial signaling pathways in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and its interplay with aging

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Disease phenotyping
• Histology
• High-resolution respirometry
• Cell culture
• Molecular biology
• Imaging (live-cell imaging)

Research focus:

• Causes and consequences of cytochrome c oxidase (COX) remodeling in lung diseases

Expertise:

• Cell culture
• Molecular biology
• Imaging (confocal fluorescence imaging, live-cell imaging)

Research focus:

• Mitochondrial T cell reprogramming in virus-induced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations and emphysema progression

Expertise:

• Cell culture
• Flow cytometry - FACS
• Molecular biology (Cytokine analysis)
• High-resolution respirometry

Research focus:

• Mechanism of mitochondrial redox alterations in acute oxygen sensing of the pulmonary vasculature

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Cell culture
• Molecular biology
• Histology
• Imaging (confocal fluorescence imaging, calcium imaging)

Research focus:

• Endothelial communication with alveolar epithelial cells and pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells
• Investigating how fibroblast growth factor 10 (FGF10)-dependent developmental pathways drive COPD progression and evaluating the therapeutic potential of modulating this signaling for lung repair
• Investigating how dysregulated epithelial stress responses and impaired injury-clearance–repair mechanisms contribute to maladaptive remodeling and disease progression during chronic environmental exposure

Expertise:

• Cell culture and functional assays, using endothelial and alveolar epithelial cells
• Molecular and cellular biology (gene and protein expression analyses, mechanistic perturbation studies)
• Advanced microscopy (EVOS M7000 and high-resolution 2D/3D imaging) and quantitative imaging analysis (including AI-assisted 2D and 3D image evaluation)

Research focus:

• Notch transcription factor RBPJ in the development of pulmonary hypertension

Expertise:

• Molecular biology (capillary-based protein immune assays - JESS, laser-assisted microdissection - LMD)
• Cell culture
• Histology
• Imaging analysis

Research focus:

• Airway biology and interaction with distal lung parenchyma
• Dissecting how impaired epithelial responsiveness to homeostatic developmental signaling pathways destabilize alveolar maintenance and repair during chronic environmental injury

Expertise:

• Disease modeling (environmental exposure models, including precision cut lung slices)
• Disease phenotyping
• Quantitative histopathology (including alveolar and vascular morphometry analyses)
• Molecular biology (including mRNA expression analysis, protein immunoassays)

Research focus:

• Impact of dual use of electronic and combustible cigarettes on the development of emphysema and pulmonary hypertension

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Disease phenotyping
• Cell culture
• Molecular biology
• Statistical data analysis

Research focus:

• Macrophages in the development of pulmonary hypertension in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Communication pathways between macrophages and pulmonary vascular cells

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Disease phenotyping
• Cell culture (co-culture systems)
• Flow cytometry - FACS
• Molecular biology
• Histology

Research focus:

• Alveolar epithelial cell differentiation in aberrant lung repair
• The role of carcinoembryonic antigen cell adhesion molecule 6 (CEACAM6) during alveolar injury and repair in COPD

Expertise:

• Computational analysis of high-dimensional datasets (bulk RNA-seq, single-cell RNA-seq, genome-wide association data)
• Disease pheotyping
• Cell culture (including cell isolation from human lung explant material)
• Flow cytometry for epithelial and immune cell phenotyping

Research focus:

• Interaction between alveolar epithelial and immune cells
• The role of heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1)–mediated antioxidant defence during development of emphysema and vascular alterations upon chronic environmental exposure

Expertise:

• Cell culture (multi-dimensional epithelial culture systems - monolayer cultures, advanced 2D models, 3D alveolospheres, 3D bronchioalveolar organoids, air–liquid interface)
• Disease modeling (precision-cut lung slices for structural and functional assessment)
• Disease phenotyping
• Redox biology (electron spin resonance–based quantification of reactive nitrogen and oxygen species and related metabolic profiling)

Research focus:

• Lipidomics
• Breathing physiology

Expertise:

• Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS)
• MIGET (the multiple inert gas elimination technique)

Expertise:

• Assistance in disease modeling
• Cell culture
• Imaging (calcium imaging)
• Histology
• Lab management

Expertise:

• Molecular biology (among the standard procedures, capillary-based protein immune assays - JESS, laser-assisted microdissection - LMD)
• Lab management

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Histology
• Lab management

Expertise:

• Cell Culture
• Immunocytochemistry
• Lab management

Expertise:

• Phenotyping
• Cell culture
• Electrophysiology

Expertise:

• Disease modeling
• Disease phenotyping
• Histology

Expertise:

• Safety officer for the laboratory area
• Specialist in molecular biology and genetic engineering
• Laser safety officer
• Disease modeling
• Disease phenotyping
• Histology
• Lab management

Expertise:

• Experimental planning and coordination (study design, workflow organization, and implementation of disease modeling)
• Disease modeling (including therapeutic interventions: pharmacological treatments and genetic manipulation, including transgenic and AAV-based strategies)
• Assistance in experimental design

Expertise:

• Disease phenotyping
• Histology (stereology)
• Cell culture