Jens Schwamborn

Jens Schwamborn has a track record in the fields’ stem cell research, neuroscience and in vitro modeling of Parkinson’s disease. In the stem cell field he published manuscripts concerning cell fate specification in neural stem cells (Schwamborn et al., 2009, Cell), the direct reprogramming of fibroblasts into neural stem cells (Han et al., 2012, Cell Stem Cell), the function of micro-RNAs during neural stem cell maintenance (Palm et al., 2013, Nucleic Acids Research) as well as the functional integration of transplanted stem cells in the mouse brain (Hemmer et al., 2014, Stem Cell Reports). In the neuroscience field Jens Schwamborn published about neocortex formation in primates (Kelava et al., 2012, Cerebral Cortex), the establishment of a stem cell–based phenotypic assay for neurotoxicity (Hoening et al., 2012, Cell Stem Cell) as well as the molecular mechanisms that are contributing to the specification of Oligodendrocytes (Bunk et al., 2016, Stem Cells). Finally, in the field of in vitro modeling of Parkinson’s disease he contributed with the development of a novel method for the differentiation of neuroepithelial stem cells into functional dopaminergic neurons in 3D microfluidic cell culture (Moreno et al., 2015, Lab Chip), the description of a molecular mechanism that regulates the expression of alpha-Synuclein (Pavlou et al., 2016, Molecular Neurobiology) and with a manuscript addressing the development of a small molecule compound that activates Nurr1 and shows remarkable neuroprotective functions in Parkinson’s disease models (Spathis et al., 2017, PNAS). In summary the he contributed to the research fields that are relevant for this project application, by publications in major journals like Cell, Cell Stem Cell, Stem Cell Reports and PNAS
Some time ago the Schwamborn group decided to stop the work with animal models and to fully focus on human specific in vitro models for Parkinson’s disease. Of importance in this context is the recently accepted manuscript describing the generation of midbrain organoids from neuroepithelial stem cells (Monzel et al., 2017, Stem Cell Reports). This manuscript will be followed by a paper describing an alternative approach to generate midbrain organoids without extracellular matrix (Smits et al., submitted). Besides publications the Schwamborn lab is active in filing patents about their findings. So far six different patents have been filed (3 are granted, 3 are still in the process). Based on these patents Schwamborn is also co-founder of the spin-off company Braingineering Technologies s.a.r.l. (BTech).
Prof. Schwamborn acts as reviewer for major scientific journals (including PNAS, Acta Neuropathologica, Movement Disorders, Brain, Stem Cell Reports and Cell Reports) as well as funding organizations (e.g. Medical Research Council (MRC), German Research Foundation (DFG), German Israeli Foundation (GIF), Wellcome Trust, CNRS / INSERM and European Research Council (ERC)). Furthermore Schwamborn was associate editor for stem Cells and development for Scientific Reports and in the editorial board Neurodegeneration for the journals Frontiers in Neurology, Neuroscience and Psychiatry.

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