Dimmeler Group

About us

Small RNAs,
big impact on
cardiovascular health

We investigate how non-coding RNAs regulate cardiac cell function to drive vascular repair, tissue remodeling, and healthy ageing.

Find out more about our research units/groups/teams below.

Adding life to years and years to life

We use aged preclinical models to study how senolytic and senomorphic treatments affect cardiac function, cellular senescence, and inflammation. Our work aims to understand when and how these treatments can promote cardiac regeneration.

Group Members

Dr. Denada Arifaj, Postdoc
Alisa Debes, Technical Assistant

Publications

Fueling the aging heart

Our focus is to uncover how endothelial metabolism affects heart aging, focusing on two critical pathways: the transport of nutrients and the glycosylation of secreted factors.

Group Members

Dr. Macarena De Andrés Laguillo, Postdoc

Publications

A monolayer of human microvascular cardiac endothelial cells in culture. In white you can see the nuclei, in red cell junctions and in cyan the cytoskeleton of the cells.
Photo credit: Dr. Macarena De Andrés Laguillo

The hidden language of immune cells

Our research explores how endogenous RNA and sugar structures called glycans shape immune cell communication and contribute to inflammation in cardiovascular disease.

Team Members

Dr. Elijah Genetzakis, Postdoc
Sofia Gagliardi, Technical Assistant

Publications

The cardiac neurovascular unit in health and disease

The heart is supported by complex interactions among cardiomyocytes, vascular cells, nerves, fibroblasts and immune cells. We investigate how these cellular networks maintain cardiac function and how their disruption contributes to ageing and heart failure, with a particular focus on the cardiac neurovascular unit.

Team Members

Dr. Jin Komuro, Postdoc
Dr. Katja Schmitz, Technical Assistant

Publications

Decoding the cellular networks behind cardiac fibrosis

We investigate how communication between cardiac cells and distant organs drives fibrosis and pathological cardiac remodeling in cardiovascular disease. Our research seeks to uncover the diversity of cardiac fibroblasts and understand how distinct fibroblast populations contribute to cardiac repair, remodeling, and fibrosis.

Team Members

Dr. Veronica Larcher, Postdoc
Leonie Stein, PhD Student

Publications

Whole-mount views of hearts reveal the striking expansion of LepR⁺ lineage-derived adventitial fibroblasts following myocardial infarction, with tdTomato⁺ cells accounting for the vast majority of the fibrotic scar.
Photo credit: Dr. Veronica Larcher

How endothelial cells adapt, respond, and thrive

Our research focuses on how endothelial cell plasticity enables endothelial cells to dynamically remodel their phenotypes in response to physiological and pathological cues.

Team Members

Dr. Elvin Leonard, Postdoc
Hamza Gulshan, PhD Student
Melanie Bendel, Technical Assistant

Publications

Disease mechanisms in age-associated cardiovascular disease

Our research focuses on the mechanisms underlying age-associated cardiovascular disease. We investigate disease processes within the myocardium, with a particular emphasis on the interaction between immune cells and the myocardium in the context of age-associated somatic mutations.

Team Members

Dr. Lukas Zanders, Clinician
Fenja Fleck, PhD Student
Inês Ala, Technical Assistant

Publications

Small RNAs, big impact on cardiovascular health.

We investigate how non-coding RNAs regulate cardiac cell function to drive vascular repair, tissue remodeling, and healthy ageing.

Find out more about our research units/groups/teams:

Adding life to years and years to life

Group Members

Denada Arifaj, Postdoc
Alisa Debes,Technical Assistant

Publications

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Decoding the cellular networks behind cardiac fibrosis

We investigate how communication between cardiac cells and distant organs drives fibrosis and pathological cardiac remodeling in cardiovascular disease. Our goal is to uncover new mechanisms that could be targeted to prevent or reverse cardiac fibrosis.