Matthias Löhr

Matthias Löhr

Professor/Senior Physician
Telephone: +46852482872
Visiting address: Hälsovägen, Enheten för kirurgi C1:77, 14186 Stockholm
Postal address: H9 Klinisk vetenskap, intervention och teknik, H9 CLINTEC Kirurgi och onkologi, 141 52 Huddinge
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About me

  • Matthias Löhr was appointed as the Professor of Gastroenterology & Hepatology at 
    Karolinska Institutet in 2007, incoming from the Univ. Heidelberg/dkfz. From
    the times of his MD thesis through PhD and lateron, he concentrated on
    several aspects of the pancreas, both in clinical medicine, translational and
    basic sciences. He is heading the Pancreas Research Team at Gastrocentrum and
    leading the KICancer Diagnose-related network for HPB tumors. For the 
    European Gastroenterologists (UEG), he was sitting in several committees at
    the EU in Brussels. Currently, he serves as the president of UEG. 

Research

  • Research is concentrated around the pancreas, all the way from clinical 
    pancreatology in hereditary and autoimmune pancreatitis, biomarkers,
    endoscopic therapy (ERCP) to function tests and early clinical studies in
    pancreatic cancer with novel therapeutic concepts. The translational and
    basic research is conducted in the lab (PaCaRes), lead by Rainer Heuchel
    [LINK]. In the lab, the research concentrates on the connective tissue reaction around
    pancreatic cancer and its role in chemoresistance. We developed a novel 3D
    model consisting of pancreatic cancer cels and stromal cells. The research was/is
    funded by VR, CF, RaHFo, Wallenius Stiftelsen, and others. Currently, a MSC program is running (PRECODE) as well as three EU projects: PANCAIM, PANCAID, GUIDE.MRD

Teaching

  • Lecturing pregraduate, graduate and postgraduate on all aspect of the pancreas. He is also leading the Pancreas 2000 program, an 
    educational program for future pancreatologists in Europe, now part of the European Pancreatic Club (EPC).

Articles

All other publications

Grants

  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2022 - 31 December 2025
    This interdisciplinary programme is aiming at development of beyond the state of the microfluidics for exosome-based cancer diagnostics.  Exosomes are secreted from different forms and stages of cancer, including pancreatic cancer, may reveal markers for diagnosis, prognosis and assist stage-specific intervention. This includes a better diagnosis paving the way to personalized therapy. However, the isolation and characterization of exosomes presents unique challenges due to their exceptionally small size. The project aims to build new physical understanding of the dynamics of different types of nanosized bioparticles in inertial and elasto-inertial microfluidics, including exosomes. We will study flows through straight and curved channels, including experimentally and numerically investigation of nanoparticle dynamics, including size and shape as a parameter for nanoparticle focusing and separation. Collectively, we will extend the inertial and elasto-inertial microfluidics toolbox beyond state of the art both theoretically and experimentally and apply it clinically for cancer diagnostics. We expect our methodology and the outcome of our studies to have significant implications for cancer diagnosis in general, and to provide a reliable tool for monitoring of therapy response, in the end improving the opportunities for personalized therapy.
  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2022 - 31 December 2026
    It is well known that early diagnosis dramatically increases survival rates of cancers. The merging of advanced diagnostics with therapeutics (theranostics) is poised to reshape future cancer care. Pancreatic cancer is the 4th leading cause of cancer-related death in the western world with a 5-year survival rate much below 10%. This interdisciplinary programme aims to develop beyond the state-of-the-art theranostic fiber optic technology for pancreatic cancer. Our vision is to take the next step of functionalization of optical fibers, creating a palette of novel components and methods beyond state-of-the-art. On one hand, we take minimal invasiveness of fine-needle aspiration (FNA) based cytology to the next level by developing a complete “in-vivo cell picking platform” capable of selectively retrieving cells of interest for in-vitro single cell based omics. In parallel, based on the highly predictive flow characteristics in microfluidics we will develop systems for in-vivo high dose local chemo-therapy,currently impossible due to toxicity to other cells. Finally, fibers will be developed for advanced imaging and phototherapy applications. We direct our work to pancreatic cancer, but the nature of the platform will not preclude translation to other disease theranostics. Our synergies will strengthen research that is not possible without this interdisciplinary team.
  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2019 - 31 December 2019
  • Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation
    1 January 2016 - 1 January 2021
  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2013 - 31 December 2015

Employments

  • Professor/Senior Physician, Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, 2007-

Degrees and Education

  • Docent, Univ. Rostock, 1996

Distinction and awards

Supervision

  • Supervision to doctoral degree

    • Emma Söreskog, Health Economics of the treatment and prevention of chronic pain and pancreatic cancer: four case studies based on Swedish register data, 2023-
    • Jessica Norberg, 2019
    • Maximilian Kordes, 2022
    • Xiahui Jia, 2014

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