Research Focus
Our group is interested in inflammatory and malignant gastrointestinal disorders, in particular acute pancreatitis and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. In both disorders inflammatory and neoplastic insults lead to a pronounced activation of the pancreas microenvironment resulting in highly complex transcriptional and biophysical alterations through the activation of a variety of cells such as pancreatic stellate cells, stem cells, inflammatory/immune cells, and a dynamic stromal response. More recently, a pancreas-specific tumor microbiome has been described that may have profound, yet unkowm implications on benign and malignant diseases of the pancreas. The Neesse laboratory aims to investigate this exciting and emerging field in a combined translational and clinical research program. To this end, a broad spectrum of (epi-) genetic, biochemical, transcriptional and 3rd generation sequencing approaches are employed to dissect the distinct roles of the various cell types and their mutual interaction within the pancreas microenvironment during acute pancreatic inflammation and neoplastic transformation. Ultimately, we aim to rapidly translate our findings to novel diagnostic and therapeutic concepts for patients.
Our group has initiated several prospective clinical-translational and one retrospective clinical trials.


Clinical Trials
P-MAPS
Pancreatitis- Microbiome As Predictor of Severity: Prospective multicentre clinical-translational study to discover early microbiome biomarkers that predict severity of acute pancreatitis. (PI: Albrecht Neesse, NCT04777812)
Status:
- Recruitment successfully accomplished
- Analysis conducted
- Publication: DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2023-330987
PDA-MAPS
Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma - Microbiome As Predictor of Subtypes. Prospective bicentric clinical translational study (University Medical Center Goettingen and Medical School Hannover) to discover microbiome patterns associated with PDA molecular subtypes. (PI: Albrecht Neesse, NCT04922515)
Status:
- Recruitment continuously ongoing
- Analysis for different research questions conducted
- Publications:
POPEYE trial
Prediction of postoperative pancreatic fistula by microbiome. A European-wide multicentre prospective cohort trial in collaboration with the Department of General, Visceral and Paediatric Surgery of the University Medical Center Goettingen (PD Dr. Florian Bösch, Prof. Dr. Michael Ghadimi) to validate microbial classifier for preoperative prediction of postoperative pancreatic fistula (PI: Christoph Ammer-Herrmenau, NCT04777812)
Status:
- Recruitment ongoing
- Analysis for different research questions conducted
CART-MAPS
CAR T cell treatment – Microbiome As Prediction of Side effects. A tricentric clinical translational trial (in cooperation with Inselspital Bern, University Hospital Muenster) to explore the usability of the orointestinal microbiome predicting immunological side effects of CAR T cell treatmenmt (Cytokine Releasing Syndrome, Immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome)
Status:
- Recruitment successfully accomplished
- Analysis for different research questions conducted
MiBoat
Microbiome influenced by oatmeal. An exploratory longitudinal trial to analyse the impact on oatmeal diet on microbiome and insulin resistance in patients with type II diabetes.
Status:
- Recruitment successfully accomplished
- Analysis for different research questions conducted
PROTOCOL trial
Proton pump inhibitors and stent occlusion rate of lumen apposing metal stents. A European-wide multicentre retrospective cohort trial to elucidate the role of proton pump inhibitors in lumen apposing metal stents related complication. (PI: Christoph Ammer-Herrmenau)
- Recruitment successfully accomplished
- Analysis conducted
- Publication: DOI: 10.1055/a-2569-7056
MAMBA Trial
(Mortality And Mortality by microBiome patterns in Acute pancreatitis)
MAMBA is an international longitudinal long-term follow-up study evaluating morbidity and mortality of acute pancreatitis patients that were enrolled in P-MAPS I.
- Recruitment successfully accomplished
- Analysis conducted
- Publication in revision
PEPERMINT
(Post Ercp-pancreatitis - PrEdiction thRough Microbiome in patients with Native Papilla)
PEPERMINT is a mono-centric prospective observational trial evaluating early changes of the oral and rectal microbiome upon post-ERCP pancreatitis.
- Recruitment ongoing
- Analysis for different research questions conducted
Publications
Team

Kontaktinformationen
- Telefon: +49 551 3965667
- E-Mail-Adresse: albrecht.neesse(at)med.uni-goettingen.de
Research group leader

Assistenzarzt
Leitung des molekularen Pankreasprogramms (MolPAC)
Antibiotic Stewardship-Experte (ABS-Experte)
MitarbeiterInnen
- Ulrike Wegner (TA)
- Dr. med. Jacob Hamm (Clinician Scientist)
- Dr. med. Sören Buchholz (Clinician Scientist, currently CRUK Manchester)
- Dr. med. Mark Weingarten (Clinician Scientist)
- Dr. rer. nat. Linh Dang (Post-Doc – Bioinformatik)
- Areej Shahbaz (PhD Student)
- Johannes Richter (PhD Student)
- Cathleen Heuer (cand. med. - Stipendiatin Promotionskolleg Experimentelle Medizin)
- Catharina Lingens (cand. med.)
- Alexandra Lüers (cand. med.)
- Isabel Toussaint (cand med.)
- Rahel Scholz (cand. med.)
- Richard Meier (cand. med.)
- Charlotte Vogel (cand med.)
- Helena Lescow (cand. med. - Promotionskolleg)
- Louisa Eskelson (cand. med. - Promotionskolleg)
- Lousia Hübner (student. HiWi)
Alumni
- Dr. rer. nat. Melanie Patzak
- Dr. rer. nat Iswarya Ramu
- Dr. rer. nat. Nina Pfisterer
- Syeda Shamima Nasrin, B.Sc
- Dr. med. Lukas Klein
- Dr. med. Lisa Knoll
- Dr. med. Bastian Grieme
- Dr. med. Konstantin Heuscher
- Dr. med. Johannes Hofer
- Dr. med. Melissa Porsche
- Dr. med. Charlotte Ratei
- Dr. med. Janina Rühl
- Dr. med. Laurin Wolf
UMG-interne Kooperationspartner
- Prof. Michael Ghadimi, PD. Dr. Florian Bösch (Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery)
- Dr. Kai Antweiler, Dr. Thomas Asendorf (Department of Medical Statistics)
- Prof. Dr. Karl Toischer (Department of Cardiology and Pneumology)
- Prof. Dr. Michael Zeißberg (Department of Nephrology and Rheumatology)
- Prof. Dr. Philipp Ströbel, Prof. Dr. Argyris Papantonis, Dr. Stephan Küffer (Department of Pathology)
- Prof. Dr. Ulrich Sax (Department of Medical Informatics)
- Prof. Dr. Jürgen Brockmöller (Institute of Clinical Pharmacology)
UMG-externe Kooperationspartner
- PD. Dr. Georg Beyer, Prof. Dr. Julia Mayerle, Dr. Simon Sirtl (Department of Medicine II, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Germany)
- Prof. Dr. Gabriele Capurso (Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Pancreatobiliary Endoscopy and Endosonography Division, Milano, Italy)
- Dr. Julian Cardinal von Widdern, Dr. Marko Damm (Department of Medicine I, University Hospital Halle, Germany)
- PD Dr. Fabian Frost, PD Dr. Matthias Sendler (Department of Medicine A, University Medicine Greifswald, Germany)
- Dr. Antonio Gomes, Dr. Vito Nunes (Department of General Surgery Hospital Professor Doctor Frenando Fonseca, Amadora, Portugal)
- Prof. Dr. Peter Hegyi (Institute of Pancreatic Diseases and Centre for Translational Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary)
- PD Dr. Michael Hirth (Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Infectious Diseases and Nutritional Medicine, University Hospital Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany)
- Prof. Dr. Albrecht Hoffmeister (Medical Department II, Division of Gastroenterology, University Hospital of Leipzig, Germany)
- Prof. Dr. Alexander Kleger (Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Ulm, Germany)
- Dr. Christian Meinhardt (Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital, Klinikum Oldenburg, Germany)
- Prof. Dr. Andrew Metz (Epworth Jreissati Pancreatic Center, Melbourne, Australia)
- Prof. Dr. Patrick Michl (Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Heidelberg, Germany)
- Dr. Łukasz Nawacki (Collegium Medicum, The Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce, Poland)
- Prof. Dr. Vitor Nunes (Department of General Surgery Hospital Professor Doctor Frenando Fonseca, Amadora, Portugal)
- Dr. Arpád Panyko (4th Department of Surgery, University Hospital Bratislava, Slovakia)
- Dr. Cesareo Pardo (Aparato Digestivo, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valladolid, Spain)
- PD Dr. Veit Phillip, PD Dr. Sebastian Rasch (Department of Medicine II, University Hospital rechts der Isar, Technical University Munich, Germany)
- Dr. Stephen Philcox (John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, Australia)
- Prof. Dr. Aldis Pukitis, Dr. Diana Riekstina (Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital, Riga, Lativia)
- Prof. Dr. Francisco X. Real (Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas, Madrid, Spain)
- Dr. Ecaterina Rinja, Dr. Sandru Vasile (Department of Gastroenterology, Clinical Emergency Hospital of Bucharest, Romania)
- Prof. Dr. Jonas Rosendahl (Department of Medicine I, University Hospital Halle, Germany)
- Prof. Dr. Maria Lourdes Ruiz-Rebollo (Aparato Digestivo, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valladolid, Spain)
- Prof. Dr. Vasile Sandru (Department of Gastroenterology, Clinical Emergency Hospital of Bucharest, Romania)
- Prof. Robert Jaster, Dr. Julia Woitalla (Department of Medicine II, University Hospital Rostock, Germany)
- Prof. Dr. Steven A Johnson (Robert Bosch center, Stuttgart, Germany)
- Dr. Johannes Zimmermann (Institute of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany)