Biography

Katharina Jähn-Rickert, PhD is a principal investigator at the Department of Osteology and Biomechanics at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, D.

Her work focuses on the functional investigation of osteocytes in bone physiology and pathologies utilizing state-of-the-art imaging approaches – thereby she aims to work on the interface of different disciplines i.e. biomechanics, molecular, clinical, and translational research.

Initially, she studied Biochemistry in Leipzig, D and went on to do her Ph.D. with Cardiff University, UK and the AO Research Institute Davos, CH.

Within a European Space Agency funded project, she investigated the impact of ex vivo bone organ culture on osteocyte viability, and the potential of high frequency low amplitude loading to prevent microgravity-induced bone loss.

During her post-doctoral work at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, USA, she demonstrated that soluble factors from skeletal muscles are beneficial to osteocyte viability, and further showed that osteocytes can acidify their microenvironment during lactation-induced osteocytic osteolysis in mice.

In Hamburg she also contributed to the description of a novel regulator of bone remodeling, while also demonstrating that a new magnesium-silver-alloy implant enabled physiological fracture healing in a collaborative effort with the Helmholtz Center, D.

Awards

• 01/09/2018IFMRS Fellowship Award
• 18/07/2012ASBMR Young Investigator Award

Grants

• 01/11/2019Marie Sklodowska-Curie Initial Training Network Grant
• 01/11/2018German Research Foundation Individual Grant

List of invited presentations

• 01/03/2019Autocrine/Paracrine Regulation of the Skeleton by PTHrP at the DGE in Germany
• 01/03/2017The osteocyte - Mechanotransduction and interaction with the musculature at the Osteology in Germany
• 02/03/2017The osteocyte and FGF23 at the DGE in Germany
• 02/05/2016Bone and muscle: interactions beyond mechanical at the ECTS in Italy
• 01/03/2015Interaction between Osteocytes and Muscle Cells at the Osteology in Germany
• 01/06/2013Bone cells - Osteocytes at the ECTS PhD Training Course in Germany

List of 5 Best Publications

• Elevated Bone Hardness Under Denosumab Treatment, With Persisting Lower Osteocyte Viability During DiscontinuationKatharina Jähn-Rickert, Eva M. Wölfel, Björn Jobke, Christoph Riedel, Maya Hellmich, Mathias Werner, Michelle M. McDonald and Björn Bussehttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fendo.2020.00250/full
• Multiscale bone quality analysis in osteoarthritic knee joints reveal a role of the mechanosensory osteocyte network in osteophytesGustavo Davi Rabelo, Annika vom Scheidt, Felix Klebig, Haniyeh Hemmatian, Mustafa Citak, Michael Amling, Björn Busse and Katharina Jähn https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-57303-z
• TG-interacting factor 1 (Tgif1)-deficiency attenuates bone remodeling and blunts the anabolic response to parathyroid hormoneHiroaki Saito, Andreas Gasser, Simona Bolamperti, Miki Maeda, Levi Matthies, Katharina Jähn, Courtney L. Long, Hartmut Schlüter, Marcel Kwiatkowski, Vaibhav Saini, Paola Divieti Pajevic, Teresita Bellido, Andre J. van Wijnen, Khalid S. Mohammad, Theresa A. Guise, Hanna Taipaleenmäki and Eric Hesse https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-08778-x
• Osteocytes Acidify Their Microenvironment in Response to PTHrP In Vitro and in Lactating Mice In VivoKatharina Jähn, Shilpa Kelkar, Hong Zhao, Yixia Xie, LeAnn M Tiede‐Lewis, Vladimir Dusevich, Sarah L Dallas and Lynda F Bonewaldhttps://asbmr.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jbmr.3167
• Skeletal muscle secreted factors prevent glucocorticoid-induced osteocyte apoptosis through activation of β-cateninKatharina Jähn, Nuria Lara-Castillo, Leticia Brotto, Cheng L. Mo, Mark L. Johnson, M. Brotto and Lynda F. Bonewaldhttps://www.ecmjournal.org/papers/vol024/pdf/v024a14.pdf

STRENGTH AND WEAKNESSES AT WORK

- Year Of Promotion: 2010

- Areas Of Expertise: Ageing, Electron Microscopy, Histology, Histomorphometry, Image Analysis, Imaging, and Immunocytochemistry

- Favorite statistical software: GraphPad

- Favorite research database: PubMed

- Favorite technique: Microscopy

- Favorite Cell: All of the osseous cells

- Favorite Protein: TRAP

- Best technical skill: Osteocyte cellular and lacunar analyses

- Best knowledge: Osteocytes

- Hated technique: Cannot think of one...

- Research goal: To reveal unknown functions and roles of osteocytes and thereby to generate a greater understanding of bone biology and potentially generate treatment target for disease states.

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PERSONAL STRENGTH AND WEAKNESSES

- Favorite dish: Thuringian sausage

- Favorite place to live: Fehmarn

- Best sport skill: Dancing

- Worst performance: Spontaneous small talk

- Free time activity: Family, nature, yoga, walking, good food

- Favorite quote: The one from the matrix with bending the spoon!