Dr. Maria-Patapia Zafeiriou will take up the Else Kröner Professorship in Disease Modeling at the Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Division of Neuropediatrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, on June 1, 2026.
A core component of the professorship’s research is neuronal and inner-ear organoids derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells). These serve as translational preclinical models for disease modeling as well as for screening and validating efficient, cell-type-specific strategies for gene transfer and optogenetic therapies. Continuous bidirectional data exchange between the computational, organoid-based, and animal-experimental approaches ensures iterative refinement of the therapies developed. This close integration of methods significantly improves the predictive power of preclinical studies while also helping to reduce and better target animal experiments in line with modern research standards.
You can find further information here.
Prof. Dr. Maria-Patapia Zafeiriou, UMG, Photo: MBExC
