Roland Mertelsmann

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Roland Mertelsmann
Roland Mertelsmann 2024.jpg
Prof. Roland Mertelsmann (2024)
Born (1944-10-05) 5 October 1944 (age 80)
Hameln, Germany
Known forHematology, oncology, gene therapy, stem cell transplantation
Scientific career
FieldsOncology, hematology
Institutions University of Freiburg

Roland Mertelsmann is a hematologist, oncologist and professor emeritus [1] at the University Medical Center Freiburg, Department of Oncology, Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. Mertelsmann is known for his scientific works in the fields of hematology, oncology, gene therapy and stem cell transplantation.

Contents

Biography

Mertelsmann studied medicine at the University of Göttingen 1966–68. He was a doctoral candidate at the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine at Heinrich Matthaei in Göttingen 1966–68. [2]

He continued his medical education at the School of Medicine King's College London and at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, New York 1968–78.[ citation needed ]

After graduating from Hamburg University Medical School and receiving his MD degree, he became Research Fellow at the Department of Developmental Hematopoiesis and received a special fellowship in Hematology and Clinical Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) [2] from 1976 to 78. From 1978 to 86 he was clinical assistant physician at MSKCC, then assistant attending physician and associate attending physician at the Memorial Hospital of Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

He was promoted from assistant professor of medicine to associate professor of medicine at Cornell University, New York. [2] In 1985, he returned to Germany and was appointed professor and head of the 3rd Medical Clinic Hematology and Oncology at the University of Mainz, Germany, University Medical Center. 1989 he accepted a professorship at the University of Freiburg. At Freiburg University Medical Center he became the director of the Department for Medicine I, Oncology, Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation.

Mertelsmann was involved in a scientific misconduct affair in 1997. The complaint focussed on the falsification of laboratory data. An investigation commission did not prove the active participation of Mertelsmann. [3]

In 2008 he founded the International Master/PhD Program in Biomedical Sciences (IMBS), [4] a postgraduate initiative jointly run by the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina and the University of Freiburg in Germany.

Mertelsmann retired in 2012. [5]

In 2014 he initiated the foundation of the Journal of Science, Humanities and Arts (JOSHA), [6] a diamond open access interdisciplinary journal. Mertelsmann published more than 400 articles in medical journals. [2] [7]

Scientific contributions

Molecular and cellular mechanisms of malignancy- First description of a human RNA polymerase

After discovery of the genetic code by Heinrich Matthaei and Marshall Nirenberg (1962), Mertelsmann began his research for his medical doctorate as a medical student in Heinrich Matthaei's Laboratory at the Max-Planck-Institute for experimental Medicine in Göttingen, Germany, demonstrating and characterizing for the first time a human RNA-Polymerase. [8] [9]

Studies of the Pathophysiology and Molecular Biology of Cancer Cells

The "Plasticity" of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) [10] was studied with Alexandros Spyridonidis in patients after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. [11] Molecular mechanisms of B-cell neoplasias [12] [13] were investigated together with Binder, Trepel and Dierks, the pathogenic significance of granulocytes in Graft-versus-host disease with Zeiser and his colleagues. [14]

Clinical Significance of the Leukemia Phenotype

Mertelsmann carried out an analysis of all patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treated at MSKCC, defining the prognostic and predictive parameters of cell cytology, cell growth in vitro and enzymatic markers. [15] [16] By using all techniques available at the time for phenotypic characterization of leukemia cells, he was successful in discovering subentities of acute leukemias. [17] [18]

New therapeutic Modalities

In Cooperation with Karl Welte and his colleagues at MSKCC, the purification and molecular and biological characterization of cytokines were the focus of his work in the following years at MSKCC. Interleukin-2 [19] as well as G-CSF [20] were purified to homogeneity, First translational and clinical studies of cytokines followed. [21] Since experiments in murine models demonstrated that local production by gene transduced cells produced a stronger and more specific immune response than a systemic application, e.g. of Interleukin-2, this strategy was also pursued by his group in Phase I clinical trials. [22] [23] [24]

Clinical Studies

In clinical trials for patients with leukemias and lymphomas at the MSKCC [25] and in German and European clinical trial groups, [26] [27] new therapeutic concepts were studied including chemotherapies alongside new strategies. [28] [29] For some rare cancers, the use of rapidly recycling classic chemotherapy combinations followed by immediate High Dose Chemotherapy with HSC transplantation led to long term remission which had not been seen with other therapies. [30]

Academic memberships

Mertelsmann is or was member of many international scientific organizations or journals, among them many years at the journals European Journal of Cancer and Annals of Hematology. He is a foundation member of the Comprehensive Cancer Center Freiburg (CCCF), Initiator and director of the International Biomedical Exchange Program (IMEP), and founder of the ARGER-Foundation. [31]

Other select memberships:

Awards

Publications

Articles in journals

Books (selection)

See also

Roland Mertelsmann in:

References

  1. ↑ Mertelsmann, Roland. "Curriculum Vitae Professor Dr. Drs. h.c. Roland Heinrich Mertelsmann" (PDF). www.uniklinik-freiburg.de. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 June 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Forschungsdatenbank Freiburg". forschdb.verwaltung.uni-freiburg.de. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  3. ↑ Klaus Koch: Fälschungsskandal – Verjährt und zugenäht. auf: aerzteblatt.de
  4. ↑ "Home". IMBS - International Master Program in Biomedical Sciences. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 "Prof. em. Dr. Drs. h.c. Roland Mertelsmann | Autorenprofil und Werke | beck-shop.de". www.beck-shop.de (in German). Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  6. ↑ "Journal of Science, Humanities and Arts (JOSHA)". JOSHA journal. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  7. ↑ "FreiDok plus - Mertelsmann, Roland". freidok.uni-freiburg.de. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  8. ↑ R. Mertelsmann: Purification and some properties of a soluble DNA-dependent. RNA polymerase from nuclei of human placenta. In: Eur. J. Biochem. 1969 Jun;9(3), S. 311–318. PMID   5795512
  9. ↑ R. Mertelsmann, B. Koziner, D. A. Filippa, E. Grossbard, G. Incefy, M. A. Moore, B. D. Clarkson: Clinical significance of TdT, cell surface markers and CFU-C in 297 patients with hematopoietic neoplasias. In: Haematol Blood Transfus. 1979;23, S. 131–138. PMID   317470. Prof. em. Dr. Drs. h.c. Roland Mertelsmann
  10. ↑ R. Mertelsmann: Plasticity of bone marrow-derived stem cells. In: J Hematother Stem Cell Res. 2000 Dec;9(6), S. 957–960. Review. PMID   11177610
  11. ↑ A. Spyridonidis, R. Mertelsmann, J. Finke: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: more than just hematopoietic? In: J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2004 Mar;130(3), S. 127–134. Epub 2004 Jan 16. Review. PMID   14727105
  12. ↑ Binder, Mascha; Müller, Fabian; Frick, Mareike; Wehr, Claudia; Simon, Frédéric; Leistler, Bernd; Veelken, Hendrik; Mertelsmann, Roland; Trepel, Martin (3 January 2013). "CLL B-cell receptors can recognize themselves: alternative epitopes and structural clues for autostimulatory mechanisms in CLL". Blood. 121 (1): 239–241. doi:10.1182/blood-2012-09-454439. ISSN   0006-4971.
  13. ↑ C. Dierks, J. Grbic, K. Zirlik, R. Beigi, N. P. Englund, G. R. Guo, H. Veelken, M. Engelhardt, R. Mertelsmann, J. F. Kelleher, P. Schultz, M. Warmuth: Essential role of stromally induced hedgehog signaling in B-cell malignancies. In: Nat Med. 2007 Aug;13(8), S. 944–951. Epub 2007 Jul 15. PMID   17632527.
  14. ↑ L. Schwab, L. Goroncy, S. Palaniyandi, S. Gautam, A. Triantafyllopoulou, A. Mocsai, W. Reichardt, F. J. Karlsson, S. V. Radhakrishnan, K. Hanke, A. Schmitt-Graeff, M. Freudenberg, F. D. von Loewenich, P. Wolf, F. Leonhardt, N. Baxan, D. Pfeifer, O. Schmah, A. Schönle, S. F. Martin, R. Mertelsmann, J. Duyster, J. Finke, M. Prinz, P. Henneke, H. Häcker, G. C. Hildebrandt, G. Häcker, R. Zeiser: Neutrophil granulocytes recruited upon translocation of intestinal bacteria enhance graft-versus-host disease via tissue damage. In: Nat Med. 2014 Jun;20(6), S. 648–654. doi:10.1038/nm.3517. Epub 2014 May 18. PMID   24836575
  15. ↑ R. Mertelsmann, M. A. Moore, B. Clarkson: Leukemia cell phenotype and prognosis: an analysis of 519 adults with acute leukemia. In: Blood Cells. 1982;8(3), S. 561–583. PMID   6984348
  16. ↑ R. Mertelsmann, H. Tzvi Thaler, L. To, T. S. Gee, S. McKenzie, P. Schauer, A. Friedman, Z. Arlin, C. Cirrincione, B. Clarkson: Morphological classification, response to therapy, and survival in 263 adult patients with acute nonlymphoblastic leukemia. In: Blood. 1980 Nov;56(5), S. 773–781. PMID   6932977.
  17. ↑ N. Ciobanu, M. Andreeff, B. Safai, B. Koziner, R. Mertelsmann: Lymphoblastic neoplasia in a homosexual patient with Kaposi’s sarcoma. In: Ann Intern Med. 1983 Feb;98(2), S. 151–155. PMID   6572044.
  18. ↑ R. Mertelsmann, B. Koziner, R. Ralph, D. Filippa, S. McKenzie, Z. A. Arlin, T. S. Gee, M. A. Moore, B. D. Clarkson: Evidence for distinct lymphocytic and monocytic populations in a patient with terminal transferase—positive acute leukemia. In: Blood. 1978 Jun;51(6), S. 1051–1056. PMID   274159
  19. ↑ K. Welte, C. Y. Wang, R. Mertelsmann, S. Venuta, S. P. Feldman, M. A. Moore: Purification of human interleukin 2 to apparent homogeneity and its molecular heterogeneity. In: J Exp Med. 1982 Aug 1;156(2), S. 454–464. PMID   6980256 PMC   2186775
  20. ↑ K. Welte, E. Platzer, L. Lu, J. L. Gabrilove, E. Levi, R. Mertelsmann, M. A. Moore: Purification and biochemical characterization of human pluripotent hematopoietic colony-stimulating factor. In: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1985 Mar;82(5), S. 1526–1530. PMID   3871951 PMC   397296
  21. ↑ R. Mertelsmann, K. Welte, C. Sternberg, R. O'Reilly, M. A. Moore, B. D. Clarkson, H. F. Oettgen: Treatment of immunodeficiency with interleukin-2: initial exploration. In: J Biol Response Mod. 1984 Oct;3(5), S. 483–490. PMID   6334136
  22. ↑ H. Glimm, K. Flügge, D. Möbest, V. M. Hofmann, J. Postmus, R. Henschler, W. Lange, J. Finke, H. P. Kiem, G. Schulz, F. Rosenthal, R. Mertelsmann, C. von Kalle: Efficient serum-free retroviral gene transfer into primitive human hematopoietic progenitor cells by a defined, high-titer, nonconcentrated vector-containing medium. In: Hum Gene Ther. 1998 Apr 10;9(6), S. 771–778. PMID   9581900.
  23. ↑ H. Veelken, A. Mackensen, M. Lahn, G. Köhler, D. Becker, B. Franke, U. Brennscheidt, P. Kulmburg, F. M. Rosenthal, H. Keller, J. Hasse, W. Schultze-Seemann, E. H. Farthmann, R. Mertelsmann, A. Lindemann: A phase-I clinical study of autologous tumor cells plus interleukin-2-gene-transfected allogeneic fibroblasts as a vaccine in patients with cancer. In: Int J Cancer. 1997 Jan 27;70(3), S. 269–277. PMID   9033626
  24. ↑ G. Stingl, E. B. Brŏcker, R. Mertelsmann, K. Wolff, S. Schreiber, E. Kămpgen, A. Schneeberger, W. Dummer, U. Brennscheid, H. Veelken, M. L. Birnstiel, K. Zatloukal, W. Schmidt, G. Maass, E. Wagner, M. Baschle, M. Giese, E. R. Kempe, H. A. Weber, T. Voigt: Phase I study to the immunotherapy of metastatic malignant melanoma by a cancer vaccine consisting of autologous cancer cells transfected with the human IL-2 gene. In: Hum Gene Ther. 1996 Mar 1;7(4), S. 551–563. PMID   8800750
  25. ↑ R. Mertelsmann, R. L. Drapkin, T. S. Gee, S. Kempin, S. Passe, H. T. Thaler, Z. Arlin, M. Dowling, P. Dufour, S. McKenzie, L. To, E. Comacho, H. F. Oettgen, J. H. Burchenal, B. Clarkson: Treatment of acute nonlymphocytic leukemia in adults: response to 2,2-anhydro-1-B-D-arabinofuranosyl-5-fluorocytosine and thioguanine on the L-12 protocol. In: Cancer. 1981 Nov 15;48(10), S. 2136–2142. PMID   6170414
  26. ↑ M. Pfreundschuh, J. Schubert, M. Ziepert, R. Schmits, M. Mohren, E. Lengfelder, M. Reiser, C. Nickenig, M. Clemens, N. Peter, C. Bokemeyer, H. Eimermacher, A. Ho, M. Hoffmann, R. Mertelsmann, L. Trümper, L. Balleisen, R. Liersch, B. Metzner, F. Hartmann, B. Glass, V. Poeschel, N. Schmitz, C. Ruebe, A. C. Feller, M. Loeffler: German High-Grade Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Study Group (DSHNHL). Six versus eight cycles of bi-weekly CHOP-14 with or without rituximab in elderly patients with aggressive CD20+ B-cell lymphomas: a randomised controlled trial (RICOVER-60). In: Lancet Oncol. 2008 Feb;9(2), S. 105–116. doi : 10.1016/S1470-2045(08)70002-0. Epub 2008 Jan 15. PMID   18226581
  27. ↑ O. Determann, E. Hoster, G. Ott, H. Wolfram Bernd, C. Loddenkemper, M. Leo Hansmann, T. E. Barth, M. Unterhalt, W. Hiddemann, M. Dreyling, W. Klapper: European Mantle Cell Lymphoma Network and the German Low Grade Lymphoma Study Group. Ki-67 predicts outcome in advanced-stage mantle cell lymphoma patients treated with anti-CD20 immunochemotherapy: results from randomized trials of the European MCL Network and the German Low Grade Lymphoma Study Group. In: Blood. 2008 Feb 15;111(4), S. 2385–2387. Epub 2007 Dec 12. PMID   18077791
  28. ↑ H. P. Koeffler, D. Heitjan, R. Mertelsmann, J. E. Kolitz, P. Schulman, L. Itri, P. Gunter, E. Besa: Randomized study of 13-cis retinoic acid v placebo in the myelodysplastic disorders. In: Blood. 1988 Mar;71(3), S. 703–708. PMID   3278754. 309: W. Hiddemann, H. Kreutzmann, K. Straif, W. D. Ludwig, R. Mertelsmann, M. Planker, R. Donhuijsen-Ant, E. Lengfelder, Z. Arlin, T. Büchner: High-dose cytosine arabinoside in combination with mitoxantrone for the treatment of refractory acute myeloid and lymphoblastic leukemia. In: Semin Oncol. 1987 Jun;14(2 Suppe 1), S. 73–77. PMID   3473685
  29. ↑ E. J. Gold, R. H. Mertelsmann, L. M. Itri, T. Gee, Z. Arlin, S. Kempin, B. Clarkson, M. A. Moore: Phase I clinical trial of 13-cis-retinoic acid in myelodysplastic syndromes. In: Cancer Treat Rep. 1983 Nov;67(11), S. 981–986. PMID   6580071
  30. ↑ L. Houet, I. Möller, M. Engelhardt, G. Köhler, H. Schmidt, D. Herchenbach, M. Schnitzler, A. Schmitt-Graeff, A. A. Jungbluth, R. Mertelsmann, B. Rumstadt, C. F. Waller: Long-term remission after CD34+-selected PBSCT in a patient with advanced intra-abdominal desmoplastic small round-cell tumor. In: Bone Marrow Transplant. 2010 Apr;45(4), S. 793–795. doi:10.1038/bmt.2009.226. Epub 2009 Aug 31. PMID   19718066 PMC   3147145
  31. ↑ ARGER Foundation
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