Aktuell

• von Dr. Alexandra Nießen
• 17.09.2026

Why can the young heart recover remarkably well from injury, while this ability is largely lost later in life? Prof. Dr Mona Malek Mohammadi, the new Assistant Professor of ‘Translational Immunocardiology’ at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Duisburg-Essen, investigates cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying this unique ability. Among other things, she aims to develop new therapies for the regeneration of adult hearts at Essen University Hospital.

[Dr Alexandra Niessen:] If you had to explain your research to people outside your field, what would you say it’s about?

[Junior Professor Dr Mona Malek Mohammadi:] I investigate how the young heart respond to injury and stress, and what determines whether it regenerates or undergoes pathological remodeling. We are particularly interested in how heart muscle, blood vessel, immune and connective tissue cells communicate with one another during this process. This knowledge should help us to find new ways of specifically activating repair and protective mechanisms in the adult heart as well.

What is it about this topic that fascinates you personally?

I find it fascinating that, for a short time after birth, the heart possesses regenerative and adaptive capabilities that are later almost entirely lost. Within a few days, its response to injury changes fundamentally. Understanding what drives this change and whether regenerative programmes can be reactivated at a later stage opens up, in my view, entirely new prospects for the treatment of heart disease.

Was möchten Sie am Universitätsklinikum Essen (UK Essen) voranbringen?

With my appointment, I am bringing a DFG project to the University of Essen. We are investigating how the cells of the heart muscle and connective tissue – the cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts – communicate with one another. I want to find out how this interaction regulates the regenerative response of the heart in newborns and how heart muscle cells regenerate following damage. The German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding our study with almost 520.000 euros.

At the University Hospital Essen, I also wish to establish a research group in translational immunocardiology that closely links basic research with clinical issues. My aim is to gain a better understanding of the role of immune cells in cardiac regeneration, adaptation and disease, and to develop new therapeutic approaches based on this knowledge. Close interdisciplinary collaboration at the Essen site is also important to me in this regard.

Which finding from your research has particularly surprised you?

I was particularly surprised by just how adaptive the young heart can respond to stress without immediately developing pathological remodeling. Not only do heart muscle cells play an active role in this, but so do immune cells and other cell types. This realisation has changed the way I view the heart: regeneration is not the work of individual cells, but the result of a complex interplay.

Short Biography: Mona Malek Mohammadi

Academic Work

• Since September 2026: Assistant Professor of Translational Immunocardiology, Faculty of Medicine at UDE and UK Essen
• April 2020 to August 2026: Group Leader, University of Bonn, Institute of Physiology I
• September 2017 to March 2020: Group Leader, European Centre for Angioscience (ECAS) at the Medical Faculty of Mannheim, Heidelberg University.
• January 2016 to August 2017: Postdoctoral researcher at Hannover Medical School (MHH)

University Education

• 2012-2016: PhD programme at the MHH
• 2009-2012: Master’s degree in Medical Biotechnology at Tarbiyat Modares University, Tehran (Iran)
• 2005-2008: Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from Universiti Putra Malaysia, Selangor (Malaysia)

Further information:

Junior Professor Dr Mona Malek Mohammadi, Medizinische Fakultät, Institut für Immuno-Kardiologie, Mona.MalekMohammadi@uk-essen.de

Editor: Dr Alexandra Niessen, alexandra.niessen@uni-due.de