Supervisor
Dr. Adrian Fischer
Dr. Adrian Fischer is Junior Group Leader at the Institute for Diabetes and Cancer (IDC), Helmholtz Munich, where he leads research on organ fibrosis, extracellular-matrix dynamics and mesothelium–fibroblast biology in metabolic disease. His group combines in vivo disease models with human cell systems, advanced extracellular matrix (ECM) imaging, spatial transcriptomics and functional reporter technologies to resolve fibrotic microenvironments and identify therapeutic vulnerabilities. Recent work includes studies on pleuro-alveolar fibrotic niches and macrophage-driven ECM remodeling, mesothelial differentiation in fibrosis, and methods for in vivo tracking of extracellular-matrix dynamics. His research has been published in journals including Nature Communications, Nature Protocols and Nature Immunology. Within MEDIculous REMeDy, he will provide close scientific supervision and integrate the doctoral candidate into an interdisciplinary network spanning fibrosis biology, metabolism and precision medicine.
Selected publications
Fischer A. et al. | Targeting pleuro-alveolar junctions reverses lung fibrosis in mice.
Nat Commun (2025), DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-55596-x
Fischer A. et al. | In vivo fluorescent labeling and tracking of extracellular matrix.
Nat Protoc (2023), DOI: 10.1038/s41596-023-00867-y
Fischer A. et al. | Neutrophils direct preexisting matrix to initiate repair in damaged tissues.
Nat Immunol (2022), DOI: 10.1038/s41590-022-01166-6
Fischer A. et al. | Post-surgical adhesions are triggered by calcium-dependent membrane bridges between mesothelial surfaces.
Nat Commun (2020), DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16893-3
Research group website: https://www.helmholtz-munich.de/en/idc/research-groups/research-management