Hermann Haller, M.D.

Research

Dr. Haller also uses zebrafish embryos to analyze the molecular mechanisms how embryonic kidneys become connected to the aorta and whole body circulation. The Haller Lab is generating transgenic “marker” fish, which allow them to study the cellular movements in the embryonic fish and analyze how the circulation and the embryonic tissue interact and eventually make blood flow in the kidneys possible.  To test their observations, they generate zebrafish deficient (or overproducing) of the factors responsible for vascularization.

Lastly, they use this information in a three-dimensional microcirculatory chamber to stimulate their stem-cell derived organoids to become vascularized. Once blood flow has been established, their organoids can grow and become small kidneys.  In addition, the three-dimensional microcirculatory chambers can also be used to study the “plumbing” of embryonic tubules to a waste system — thereby generating a cellular system to grow kidneys from adult stem cells.

News Articles

• Sonia Sandhi’s Journey to a Ph.D. in Aging Research Blog · September 10, 2026
• MDI Bio Lab Forges Ahead Mount Desert Islander · July 29, 2026
• How to Repair a Kidney Without Making Things Worse Blog · July 29, 2026
• A Fish That Grows Old in Months Reveals How Kidneys Age—and How a Common Drug Protects Them Press Release · January 22, 2026
• A Fast-Aging Fish Reveals How a Familiar Drug Preserves Youthful Kidney Function Blog · January 22, 2026
• MDI Bio Lab Reveals a Fundamental Driver of Kidney Disease Press Release · December 12, 2025
• New Home for MDI Bioscience Draws Attention Mainebiz · December 1, 2025
• A Habit of Working Together: Colby College, MDI Bio Lab, and a Shared Vision for the Future Blog · December 1, 2025
• MDI Biological Laboratory Celebrates Colby College’s Bold Science Investment Blog · December 1, 2025
• An Early-Career Breakthrough in Blood Vessel Biology Blog · December 1, 2025

Publications

• The shared mechanisms and potential diagnostic markers for IgA nephropathy and celiac disease. Tao S, Fan X, Liu X, Becker Y, Schroder P, Zhao Q, He Z, Jiang H, Xiao J, Haller H, Ke G. Autoimmunity. 2026 Dec 31;59(1):2635179. doi: 10.1080/08916934.2026.2635179. Epub 2026 Feb 19. PMID: 41714845 
• Nonhistone Post-translational Modifications as Integrative Signaling Networks in Podocyte Injury and Glomerular Disease. He Z, Jiang H, Tao S, Becker Y, Schroder P, Xiao J, Haller H, Ke G. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2026 Aug 11. doi: 10.1681/ASN.0000001242. PMID: 42579531
• Development of a sensitive and specific method to measure heparanase activity in complex biological matrices. Wang Z, Richter R, Su G, Xu Y, Becker Y, Haller H, Liu J. Glycobiology. 2026 Apr 25;36(6):cwag028. doi: 10.1093/glycob/cwag028. PMID: 41980067
• Fundamental Processes in Renal Function Discovered at the Mt. Desert Island Biological Laboratory. Evans DH, Haller H, Zeidel M. Kidney360. 2026 Mar 1;7(3):678-688. doi: 10.34067/KID.0000001016. Epub 2025 Dec 5. PMID: 41348500 
• Sexually Dimorphic Response to Dietary Restriction-induced Longevity and Muscle Rejuvenation in Nothobranchius furzeri. Sandhi S, Somers H, Cox M, Nobrega C, Seaman R, Bakers E, Letchner O, Reeve R, Menard R, Godwin J, Paulmann A, Rogers A, Valenzano DR, Graber J, Haller H, Madelaine R. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2026 Feb 11:2026.02.09.704879. doi: 10.64898/2026.02.09.704879. PMID: 41727172 
• A Patient with Abdominal Pain and Severe Right Hydronephrosis. Zhao Q, Haller H, Ke G. Kidney360. 2026 Jan 1;7(1):216-218. doi: 10.34067/KID.0000000926. Epub 2026 Jan 29. PMID: 41609747 
• Sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibition improves age-dependent kidney microvascular rarefaction. Paulmann A, Cox MD, Boewer T, Somers HM, Fuqua H, Seaman RP, Graber JH, Mahajan A, Johnson CP, Beverly-Staggs LL, Sandhi S, Schenk H, Haller H. Kidney Int. 2026 Mar;109(3):525-544. doi: 10.1016/j.kint.2025.12.011. Epub 2025 Dec 23. PMID: 41448458 
• Kynurenine Pathway Dysregulation Impairs Podocyte Morphology and Bioenergetics In Vitro and Leads to Glomerular Dysfunction. Bolanos-Palmieri P, Schenk H, Bähre H, Schroder P, Staggs L, Haller H, Schiffer M. FASEB J. 2025 Nov 30;39(22):e71228. doi: 10.1096/fj.202502175R. PMID: 41222982 
• Systematic monocyte subset analysis reveals differential contribution of Notch signaling components to monocyte heterogeneity. Xu Y, Kapanadze T, Gaedcke S, Jirmo AC, Sablotny S, Schroth FN, Hille S, Müller OJ, Lochner M, Haller H, Schmidt-Ott K, Gamrekelashvili J, Limbourg FP. iScience. 2025 Oct 16;28(11):113795. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.113795. eCollection 2025 Nov 21. PMID: 41244563 
• Nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase deficiency and genetic susceptibility to high glucose-mediated peritoneal injury in mice. Ohse MC, Rong S, Schmidt S, Balzer MS, Nikolin C, von Vietinghoff S, Haller H, Schmidt-Ott KM, Kiyan Y, Shushakova N. Physiol Rep. 2025 Nov;13(22):e70642. doi: 10.14814/phy2.70642. PMID: 41239551 
• Heparanase 2 Modulates Vascular Permeability via Heparan Sulfate-Dependent Growth Factor Signaling. Becker Y, Tkachuk S, Jörns A, Shushakova N, Rong S, Alwakaa A, Hegermann J, Schenk H, Kiyan Y, Haller H. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2025 Oct;45(10):1835-1851. doi: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.125.323060. Epub 2025 Aug 21. PMID: 40836917 
• Dectin-1 is Pathogenic in Chronic Kidney Disease by Promoting Macrophage Infiltration and Transition to Myofibroblast. Shen L, Li J, Zhang A, Yan S, Sha W, Wang Y, Feng S, Wang C, Chen Z, Huang H, Li B, Ren P, Zhou S, Wu S, Wang Y, Shen Z, Rong S, Haller H, Jiang H, Chen J. Int J Biol Sci. 2025 Aug 16;21(12):5287-5304. doi: 10.7150/ijbs.119129. eCollection 2025. PMID: 40959267
• SGLT2 Inhibition Ameliorates Age-Dependent Renovascular Rarefaction. Paulmann A, Cox MD, Boewer T, Somers HM, Fuqua H, Seaman RP, Graber JH, Mahajan A, Johnson CP, Beverly-Staggs LL, Sandhi S, Schenk H, Haller H. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2025 Jun 28:2025.06.27.654312. doi: 10.1101/2025.06.27.654312. PMID: 40667048 
• Senescence-induced p21high macrophages contributed to CD8+ T cells-related immune hyporesponsiveness in kidney transplantation via Zfp36/IL-27 axis. Zhu T, Shen Q, Shen L, Wang Y, Zhu B, Ma L, Feng S, Wang C, Yan S, Li J, Chen Z, Zhou J, Huang H, Li B, Shen Z, Wang Q, Wang J, Gwinner W, Scheffner I, Rong S, Yang B, Wang J, Haller H, Han X, Guo G, Yin Z, Jin J, Lan HY, Chen J, Jiang H. Cell Discov. 2025 Apr 15;11(1):38. doi: 10.1038/s41421-025-00784-2. PMID: 40234384 
• Clinical evidence of venoactive drugs in diabetic microvascular complications: a scoping review. Gastaldi G, Zingg D, Calabrese A, Bouskela E, VAN Rijn MJ, Bozkurt K, Rosas-Saucedo J, Rabe E, Mansilha A, Haller H. Int Angiol. 2025 Apr;44(2):94-109. doi: 10.23736/S0392-9590.25.05389-1. PMID: 40405746 
• Current understanding of heparanase 2 regulation, a non-heparanase. Becker Y, Haller H. Biochem Soc Trans. 2025 Feb 5;53(1):BST20241281. doi: 10.1042/BST20241281. PMID: 39910799 
• Monocytes prevent apoptosis of iPSCs and promote differentiation of kidney organoids. Pecksen E, Tkachuk S, Schröder C, Vives Enrich M, Neog A, Johnson CP, Lachmann N, Haller H, Kiyan Y. Stem Cell Res Ther. 2024 May 3;15(1):132. doi: 10.1186/s13287-024-03739-8. PMID: 38702808 

More Publications

Education

• M.D., Free University of Berlin
• Yale University School of Medicine

Lab Members