Markus Loeffler - Biography#

After a study of medicine and physics (1974 - 1980, partly simultaneously) ML got engaged in mathematical modelling of regenerative tissues. His work on the haematopietic system focussed on stem cell biology, erythopoiesis and granulocytopoiesis. He generated a fully predictive model of murine haematopoiesis which was able to explain the system response to a wide variety of manipulations (radiation, chemotherapy, cytokine stimulation). He contributed to the discovery of mobilisable bone marrow stem cells. His modelling of epithelial regenerative systems (skin, gastrointestinal crypt) led to a new concept of adaptive stem cells with an autopoietic 3D-formation of crypts . Stem cell models also helped to understand and predict the course of BCR/ABL-chronic myeloid leukemia during and after tyrosine kinase treatment.

ML got engaged in the design and conduct of large clinical trials in lymphoma and in other cancers. He made major contributions in designing moderate chemotherapy dose escalation treatments in Hodgkins-disease (BEACOPP) and in Non-Hodgkin lymphoma combining with epitop specific antibody treaments (eg anti cd20-Rituximab). These trials had practise changing impact. Clinical trials on sepsis helped to ban a damaging treatment from the market (FDA revoked its admission).

Bioinformatic work helped to understand the biology and carcionogenesis of lymphomas and other cancers (gliomas, HNPPC-adenomas). This implied to disentagle the relationship between different cancer subtypes based on OMICs-profiling.

Population based epidemiology was initiated by ML in Leipzig 2010 with a large grant (40 Mio €) enabeling to set up the new LIFE research center for civilisation diseases. This lead to a study with deep phenotyping of 10.000 adult participants. Major results provide a new understanding of the relationship of brain and heart diseases and metabolic diseases.

Since 2018 the German Medical Informatics Initiative opened the possibility to use health record data. ML became responsible for the SMITH consortium with 10 universities. It became possible to share data on pharmacovigilance from 500.000 patients from 10 different hospitals paving the way to deeper studies on pharmacovigilance and medication safety in health care.

In 2012 he founded the Kunstkraftwerk Leipzig , a cultural place dedicated to multimedia immersive art installations on topics of cultural heritage