Marion Scharpfenecker Email & Phone Number

The Hague, Zh, Nl

- Facilitating and monitoring research projects with an eye on valorisation- Relationship management with researchers and other stakeholders- Stimulating collaborations to discuss and exploit trends and developments- Supporting international research consortia

Vascular- and immunopathology of kidney disease✪ Research:I am interested in how changes in the activation state of the vasculature can lead to fibrosis, chronic tissue damage and loss of renal function in diabetic kidney disease. We have identified a novel regulator of vascular activation; interfering with its function reduced vessel activation and diminished infiltration of inflammatory cells under diabetic conditions. This finding has great potential as it may easily be translated into a therapy to prevent or stop diabetic nephropathy in the future. We have also performed in depth studies on the regulation of fibroblast-to-myofibroblast transformation and extracellular matrix production of fibroblasts under diabetic conditions. We are currently testing the druggability of a potential candidate in human fibroblasts in vitro. I am proud to announce that we have discovered that the podocyte marker nephrin may be used as histological biomarker in patients with minimal change disease. For details, see the link to our recent publication below.✪ Other key accomplishments:- Project and team leader coordinating research professionals- Set-up innovative research lines leading to successful grant applications- Promoted excellent research as reviewer of Horizon2020- Initiated and established fruitful national and international collaborations- Involved in policy shaping in order to promote cardiovascular research- Involved in developing strategic and scientific year plans and management reports- Set-up and implemented quality guidelines in research - Organised national conferences on trending topics in vascular research - Teacher and block coordinator at the Leiden University

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Vascular damage and inflammation in late radiation toxicity✪ Research:I worked on a translational research project with the goal to investigate the underlying mechanisms of the devastating late effects of radiotherapy on normal tissues and to establish strategies for intervention. I studied late tissue toxicity in the kidneys and in the rectum in vivo and in skin biopsies from irradiated cancer patients. My main research questions were: 1) to characterize the influence of inflammatory processes and the immune system on microvascular injury and fibrosis after irradiation and 2) to investigate the regulatory role of the TGF-β co-receptor endoglin in these processes.✪ Other key accomplishments:- Principal investigator and leader of a research team on a personal KWF grant- Speaker and keynote speaker at national and international conferences- Chaired sessions on normal tissue toxicity at international conferences- Organised conference on radiation biology

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Microvascular injury in normal tissue toxicityMy research project was aimed at investigating the late toxic side effects of radiotherapy on the vascular system. The goal was to unravel the role of the profibrotic molecule TGF-β and the vascular regulator Notch in endothelial cell function in vitro and in vascular repair in the irradiated kidney in vivo. For this work, I was awarded the ‚Young investigator award’ of the Dutch Society for Radiation Biology and obtained a 4-year personal grant from the Dutch Cancer Society.

Leiden, The Netherlands

Novel regulators of angiogenesisI discovered the essential role of a thus far uncharacterized protein in blood vessel formation. The results of these studies were globally recognized and led to a high number of citations.

Freiburg, Germany

Endothelial cell function in physiology and pathologyFor my PhD thesis I studied the complex interplay between different cell types in the vasculature with the goal to develop antiangiogenic (combination-) treatments for cancer patients. I focussed on the effect of the Tie-2 ligands Angiopoietin-1 and -2 on endothelial/smooth muscle cell interaction and on endothelial cell activation after inflammatory stimuli. To study this, I developed and characterized several 2D and 3D cell culture models.