An international leader in kidney disease, hypertension and kidney and blood vessel
regeneration, Dr. Haller has been a faculty member at MDI Bio Lab since 2007 and he
became its leader in 2018. Since then, he has recruited a team of sophisticated, innovative
scientists who are at the leading edge of research on aging and regenerative biology.
Dr. Haller’s goals for significant expansion of the non-profit institution’s biomedical
research and training capacity have been realized so far in the tripling of its graduate
student population, growing the staff to more than 100 people, renovation of numerous
laboratory structures and the establishment of a world-leading microscopy facility.
In the same period the Laboratory has expanded the Maine INBRE program to include 17 research and higher education institutions across the state that collaborate to train Maine’s next generation of biomedical workers and leaders.
Two years ago, he established an entrepreneurial subsidiary, MDI Bioscience, which is working with Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences and the Roux Institute to develop faster, more cost effective research models for testing promising new therapies.
Dr. Haller’s research focuses on acute and chronic kidney damage. He is investigating the molecular mechanisms of kidney regeneration in animals, such as the zebrafish, that can regenerate their own organs. He is using his findings to manipulate stem cells for the purpose of regenerating kidneys in humans.
Dr. Haller received his medical degree from the Free University of Berlin and completed his postdoctoral work at Yale University. He later chaired the Division of Nephrology at the Hannover Medical School in Germany and remains a full professor there. Haller has published more than 700 peer-reviewed articles, holds six world-wide patents and has founded four biotech companies.
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