Heinrich Sauer, PhD
Heinrich Sauer has more than a decade of experience in embryonic stem cell technology. He holds permission for the import and research with human embryonic stem cells from the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin. His research centers on the mechanisms by which undifferentiated pluripotent embryonic stem cells differentiate into specialized cardiac and vascular cells. He also developed a method to isolate adult mesenchymal stem cells from adipose tissue of patients that can differentiate into endothelial cells. It is the aim of these studies to design new therapies for tissue regeneration, e.g., in infarcted myocardium, by replacement of cardiac tissue and therapeutic angiogenesis.
Teaching:
Heinrich Sauer’s ambition as a teacher throughout his professional career has been to fascinate students for the ever developing field of physiology and cell biology and to encourage them to dedicate their own lives to science and research. His teaching covers all fields of modern system and cell physiology. The Cardiovascular Stem Cell Group offers courses on stem cell technology for PhD and MD students from other departments within the campus to disseminate experimental skills based on stem cell technology and initiate scientific collaborations. He is very active in graduate educational programs.
Other activities:
Heinrich Sauer actively participates in the public debate on embryonic stem cell technology. To throw light on the pros and cons of research using embryonic stem cells, he collaborates with high schools and churches and invites the public to seminars discussing these issues. He has the conviction that the public should be better informed today about the challenges and opportunities of stem cell technology for the treatment of patients in the future. Dr. Sauer serves is an acknowledged adviser on human embryonic stem cell research for the Commission of Education, Research and Technology Risk Assessment of the German Bundestag.
CV
University Education
| 1981 – 1987 | Studies of Biology, Universities of Regensburg and Freiburg |
| 1987 | Diploma in Biology (M.Sc.), University of Freiburg |
| 1991 | Doctor in Biology (PhD), Max-Planck-Institute for Biophysics, Frankfurt, University of Frankfurt/M |
Scientific Career
| 1991 – 1992 | Post-doctoral fellow, Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Physiology Dortmund |
| 1992 – 1995 | Research Scientist, Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Physiology, Dortmund |
| 1995 – 2003 | Senior scientist and group leader, Department of Neurophysiology, University of Cologne |
| Habilitation for Physiology and Cell Biology, University of Cologne | |
| Since 2003 | Associate Professor for Cardiovascular Cell Physiology, Justus Liebig University, Giessen |
| Since 2004 | Associate Editor, Cardiovascular Research |
Awards & Honours
| 2000 | Binder Innovation Award of the German Society of Cell Biology |
| 2000 | Research Award for the Replacement of Animal Experimentation of the German Government |
| 2001 | Anny-Eck-Hieff Award of the „Federation Internationale pour la Substitution de l’Experimentation Animale (F.I.S.E.A.)“, Luxembourg |
| 2004 | Rudolf-Fritz Weiss Award for Phytotherapy |
Zur Arbeitsgruppe Prof. Sauer