Göttingen Graduate Center for Neurosciences, Biophysics, and Molecular Biosciences

Bähr, Mathias, Prof. Dr.

Professor of Neurology


  • 1985 MD, University of Tübingen Medical School, Training in Neurology at University Hospitals in Tübingen and Düsseldorf
  • DFG and Max Planck Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology Tübingen and at the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Washington University St.Louis
  • Schilling Foundation Professor for Clinical and Experimental Neurology, University of Tübingen
  • Since 2001 Director of the Department of Neurology, University of Göttingen



Major Research Interests

Our research examines cellular and molecular mechanisms of neuronal dysfunction and neuronal cell death in neurodegenerative disorders focusing on Parkinson’s disease (PD). In a translational approach we use several models to study pathophysiological cascades, potential biomarkers and develop new therapeutic strategies.
In the Excellence Cluster MBExC we cooperate with several other groups of the Göttingen Campus to determine the role of a-synuclein aggregation for dopaminergic dysfunction and cell death. To that end, we have recently also established new differentiation protocols for iPS cells from idiopathic and genetic PD patients. In all our model systems we use AAV-mediated viral gene transfer to express different disease-or de-/regeneration associated genes as research tools and also as potential therapeutic factors to manipulate the respective molecular events in vitro and in vivo. In parallel, we examine the pathophysiology in PD patients and develop new diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers.
Final aim of our research approaches is to describe in detail the molecular pathophysiology that leads to axonal and neuronal loss and to develop new therapeutic strategies, some of which have already been translated into proof of concept studies in human patients.


Homepage Department/Research Group


https://neurologie.umg.eu
http://www.baehrlab.med.uni-goettingen.de/



Selected Recent Publications


  • Raina A, Leite K, Guerin S, Mahajani SU, Chakrabarti KS, Voll D, Becker S, Griesinger C, Bähr M, Kügler S. (2020); Dopamine promotes the neurodegenerative potential of β-synuclein. J Neurochem. 2020 Jul 30. doi: 10.1111/jnc.15134. Online ahead of print.
  • Maass F, Rikker S, Dambeck V, Warth C, Tatenhorst L, Csoti I, Schmitz M, Zerr I, Leha A, Bähr M, Lingor P. (2020) ; Increased alpha-synuclein tear fluid levels in patients with Parkinson's disease. Sci Rep. 2020 May 22;10(1):8507. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-65503-1.
  • Miloserdov K, Schmidt-Samoa C, Williams K, Weinrich CA, Kagan I, Bürk K, Trenkwalder C, Bähr M, Wilke M. (2019); Aberrant functional connectivity of resting state networks related to misperceptions and intra-individual variability in Parkinson's disease. Neuroimage Clin. 2020; 25:102076. doi: 10.1016/j.nicl.2019.102076. Epub 2019 Nov 5.
  • Maass F, Michalke B, Willkommen D, Leha A, Schulte C, Tönges L, Mollenhauer B, Trenkwalder C, Rückamp D, Börger M, Zerr I, Bähr M, Lingor P. (2019); Elemental fingerprint: Reassessment of a cerebrospinal fluid biomarker for Parkinson's disease. Neurobiol Dis. 2020 Feb;134:104677. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2019.104677. Epub 2019 Nov 13.
  • Balke D, Tatenhorst L, Dambeck V, Ribas VT, Vahsen BF, Michel U, Bähr M, Lingor P. (2019); AAV-Mediated Expression of Dominant-Negative ULK1 Increases Neuronal Survival and Enhances Motor Performance in the MPTP Mouse Model of Parkinson's Disease. Mol Neurobiol. 2020 Feb;57(2):685-697. doi: 10.1007/s12035-019-01744-0. Epub 2019 Aug 24.
  • Mahajani S, Raina A, Fokken C, Kügler S, Bähr M. (2019); Homogenous generation of dopaminergic neurons from multiple hiPSC lines by transient expression of transcription factors. Cell Death Dis. 2019 Nov 27;10(12):898. doi: 10.1038/s41419-019-2133-9
  • Maass F, Schulz I, Lingor P, Mollenhauer B, Bähr M. (2018); Cerebrospinal fluid biomarker for Parkinson's disease: An overview. Mol Cell Neurosci. 2019 Jun;97:60-66. doi: 10.1016/j.mcn.2018.12.005. Epub 2018 Dec 10.
  • Tolö J, Taschenberger G, Leite K, Stahlberg MA, Spehlbrink G, Kues J, Munari F, Capaldi S, Becker S, Zweckstetter M, Dean C, Bähr M, Kügler S. (2018); athophysiological Consequences of Neuronal α-Synuclein Overexpression: Impacts on Ion Homeostasis, Stress Signaling, Mitochondrial Integrity, and Electrical Activity. Front Mol Neurosci. 2018 Mar 7;11:49. doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2018.00049. eCollection 2018.
  • Wilke M, Schneider L, Dominguez-Vargas AU, Schmidt-Samoa C, Miloserdov K, Nazzal A, Dechent P, Cabral-Calderin Y, Scherberger H, Kagan I, Bähr M. (2017); Reach and grasp deficits following damage to the dorsal pulvinar. Cortex. 2018 Feb;99:135-149. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.10.011. Epub 2017 Nov 8.