Leitung

Prof. Dr. Dirk Haller

Technical University of Munich
TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan
Chair of Nutrition and Immunology
Gregor-Mendel-Str. 2
D-85354 Freising-Weihenstephan

Tel.: +49 (0) 8161-71 2026
Fax: +49 (0) 8161-71 2824

EMail: dirk.haller [at] tum.de

Wissenschaftlicher CV - PDF

Current Position
Chair of Nutrition and Immunology (W3 Professor), TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan; Director of ZIEL - Institute for Food & Health, Technical University of Munich

Academic Education
1990-1997	Food Technology, University of Hohenheim, Diploma ’summa cum laude’
1993-1996	Nutrition Science, University of Hohenheim, Diploma ’summa cum laude’
1999	Dr. rer. nat. in Microbiology and Immunology ’summa cum laude’
	’Modulation of the immune response by non-pathogenic bacteria’

Postgraduate Positions
2014 to date	Director of ZIEL - Institute for Food & Health, Technical University of Munich/Germany
2008 to date	Full Professor (W3) at the Technical University of Munich/Germany, Nutrion and Immunology (Chair)
2007-2016	Head of Department, Nutrition and Food Sciences
2007	Declined Full Professorship at ETH Zürich/Switzerland, Nutritional Biochemistry (Chair)
2006-2008	Associate Professor (W2) at the Technical University of Munich/Germany, Experimental Nutritional Medicine
2005	Declined Associate Professorship at University of Alberta/Canada, Department of Medicine
2003-2006	DFG Emmy Noether Group, Technical University of Munich/Germany
2001-2002	DFG Emmy Noether research fellow at the University of North Carolina/USA, Department of Medicine
1999-2000	Scientist at Nestlé Research Center in Lausanne/Switzerland, Department of Immunology

Honors/ Awards/ Professional Activities
2019-2022	Coordinator of the DFG Collaborative Research Center (CRC1371) Microbiome Signatures – Functional Relevance in the Digestive Tract
2019	ERC Panel Head, Consolidator Grants
2017	ERC Panel Head, Consolidator Grants
2017 to date	Board of the German Society of Nutrition (DGE)
2016-2019	Coordinator of the European Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) Diet-induced Arrangement of the Gut Microbiome (DINAMIC)
2015	Main Award from the German Medical Society (DGHM)
2015	ERC Panel Head, Consolidator Grant
2012 to date	Coordinator of the DFG Priority Program (SPP1656) – Intestinal Microbiota
2011-2017	Coordinator of the DFG Research Training Group (GRK1482)
2010	Scientific Chair of the European Science Foundation (ESF), Forward Look initiative – Gene environment interaction in chronic disease
2007-2009	German American Frontiers of Science Alumni at the National Acadamy of Sciences of America and the Humboldt Foundation
2003-2006	DFG Emmy Noether Group Leader
2001-2002	DFG Emmy Noether Research Fellow

Research Sketch
The main areas of research of Prof. Haller are dedicated to the understanding of gut health and the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and colorectal cancer (CRC). Nutrition and the intestinal microbiome play a pivotal role in the development of these complex pathologies and a key question of Prof. Haller and his team is how these environmental factors modulate inflammatory and tumorigenic responses. The intestinal epithelium provides a dynamic interface to sense the metabolic and microbial environment in the gut and is therefore prime target of the research activities. In the past years, Prof. Haller and his team generated a comprehensive and conclusive understanding how complex microbial communities and specific mechanisms of microbe-host interactions affect chronic inflammation and tumor development using germ-free models. In addition, the team developed a variety of novel tissue-specific mouse models and identified an essential role of the cellular metabolism in regulating gut homeostasis. Failure of organelle-specific (endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria) UPR signaling contributes to chronic inflammation and tumorigenesis. In addition, and most importantly for his goal to implement translational research, human intervention trials support the mechanistic studies in models and aim at defining the relevance of microbiome signatures in healthy populations (prospective cohort KORA and infants) and patients (IBD and CRC).
In the past years, Prof. Haller established a comprehensive research program at the national (DFG Priority Program SPP 1656) and local level (DFG Collaborative Research Center CRC 1371) to unravel the role of the gut microbiome in health and disease. Under the Directorship of Prof. Haller this scientific vision is now integrated into the TUM cooperate research center ZIEL – Institute for Food & Health. Novel infrastructure and technology platforms, including microbiome-related next-generation sequencing (NGS) and gnotobiotic mouse housing, are established and allow cutting-edge research at the interface of nutrition science and biomedicine.

Research Sketch

The main areas of research of Prof. Haller are dedicated to the understanding of gut health and the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and colorectal cancer (CRC). Nutrition and the intestinal microbiome play a pivotal role in the development of these complex pathologies and a key question of Prof. Haller and his team is how these environmental factors modulate inflammatory and tumorigenic responses. The intestinal epithelium provides a dynamic interface to sense the metabolic and microbial environment in the gut and is therefore prime target of the research activities. In the past years, Prof. Haller and his team generated a comprehensive and conclusive understanding how complex microbial communities and specific mechanisms of microbe-host interactions affect chronic inflammation and tumor development using germ-free models. In addition, the team developed a variety of novel tissue-specific mouse models and identified an essential role of the cellular metabolism in regulating gut homeostasis. Failure of organelle-specific (endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria) UPR signaling contributes to chronic inflammation and tumorigenesis. In addition, and most importantly for his goal to implement translational research, human intervention trials support the mechanistic studies in models and aim at defining the relevance of microbiome signatures in healthy populations (prospective cohort KORA and infants) and patients (IBD and CRC).

In the past years, Prof. Haller established a comprehensive research program at the national (DFG Priority Program SPP 1656) and local level (DFG Collaborative Research Center CRC 1371) to unravel the role of the gut microbiome in health and disease. Under the Directorship of Prof. Haller this scientific vision is now integrated into the TUM cooperate research center ZIEL – Institute for Food & Health. Novel infrastructure and technology platforms, including microbiome-related next-generation sequencing (NGS) and gnotobiotic mouse housing, are established and allow cutting-edge research at the interface of nutrition science and biomedicine.

Teaching
Basics in Immunology
Biofunctionality of Food
Nutrition and Microbe-Host Interaction
Experimental Immunology
Food and Health

Selected Memberships
German Society of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene (DGHM)
German Society of Mucosal Immunology and Microbiome (DGMIM)
European Network of Excellence on Nutrigenomics
Member of the reviewer Committee of the Leibniz Society
Member of the BMBF Road Map Committee
German American Frontiers of Science at the National Acadamy of Sciences
ILSI Expert Group on Probiotics
ILSI Expert Group on Biomarkers of Inflammation
European Science Foundation Forward Look
Editor of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD)
European Research Council (ERC) Panel Head