Prof. Thomas Worzfeld
Universität Marburg

Epithelial tissues are frequently exposed to harmful environmental stimuli. Therefore, they require
robust mechanisms to cope with stress conditions and injury in order to restore tissue homeostasis.
Here, I will illustrate the significance of a particular family of transmembrane proteins, plexins, in
adaptive epithelial stress responses. I will show that plexins act as receptors for semaphorins and as
sensors of mechanical forces, and are highly relevant in the adaptation of epithelial tissues to stress
(with the skin and stomach as examples). Moreover, I will delineate the role of a nuclear receptor, the
glucocorticoid receptor, in epithelial maladaptation after kidney injury. 

Prof. Worzfeld studied medicine in Germany, the US, and Switzerland. After obtaining his doctoral title
in Pharmacology from the University of Heidelberg, Germany, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher
and, subsequently, as a group leader at the Max-Planck-Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad
Nauheim, Germany. He was then appointed Associate Professor at the Institute of Pharmacology of the University of Marburg, Germany. Since 2019, he is Full Professor and Director of the Institute of
Pharmacology, University of Marburg. 

Host: Prof. Dr. Jan Tuckermann
Institute of Comparative Molecular Endocrinology – Study Dean of Biology