Department of Medicine I
(Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation) &
Center for Translational Cell Research (ZTZ)
Medical Center – University of Freiburg
Breisacher Str. 115
D-79106 Freiburg
- +49 (0)761 270-71822
- natalie.koehler@uniklinik-freiburg.de
- Homepage
Current position
Juniorprofessor (tenure track), Department of Medicine I, Center for Medicine, Medical Center – University of Freiburg &
CIBSS (Center for Integrative Biological Signaling Studies), University of Freiburg
Academic training
| 2011 | Diploma thesis, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA |
| 2006 - 2011 | Study of Molecular Medicine, University of Freiburg |
Scientific qualifications
| 2012 - 2015 | Dissertation in Molecular Medicine, University of Freiburg |
Postgraduate positions
| since 05/2021 | Juniorprofessor (tenure track) for precision targeting of signaling, Medical Center – University of Freiburg |
| 2019 - 2021 | Junior group leader; Department of Internal Medicine I, Medical Center – University of Freiburg |
| 09/19 - 11/19 | Postdoctorate, Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Stanford University, USA |
| 2018 - 2019 | Postdoctorate, Department of Internal Medicine I, Medical Center – University of Freiburg |
| 2015 - 2017 | Medical Trainee and Medical Manager Hematology & Oncology, Roche Pharma AG, Grenzach-Wyhlen |
Miscellaneous (Honors , Awards)
| 2020/21 | Selected for participation in the 70th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting |
| 2020 | Medical Scientist EQUIP Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg |
| 2019 | Grünewald-Zuberbier-Stiftung scholarship |
| 2019 | Mechtild Harf Research Grant, DKMS |
| 2018 | EIRA Mentoring Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg |
| 2015 | ASH Abstract Achievement Award, ASH Annual Meeting, USA |
| 2015 | DAG-KBT Research Award |
| 2014 | Barbara Hobom Prize, BIOSS, Freiburg |
| 2012 | SGBM 3-year PhD scholarship |
| 2011 | Carl Duisberg scholarship (Bayer fellowship program) |
link to all publications from N. Köhler: Pubmed
Publications based on CRC1160 funding
Polcik L, Pethe A, Ashok D, Tissino E, Fernández-Rego A, Pozzo F, Danner DJ, Holst M, Martines C, Hofmann K, Dimovski AJ, Kissel S, Härzschel A, Li L, Bittolo T, Andrieux G, Haslauer T, Höpner JP, Zaborsky N, Greil R, Miething C, Duque-Afonso J, Köhler N, Boerries M, Bomben R, Duyster J, Grosse R, Gaidano G, Zamò A, Zucchetto A, Carrasco YR, Efremov DG, Gattei V, Hartmann TN. 2026. CD49d governs immune synapse formation through actin rearrangements and synchronizes BCR signaling in CLL. Blood. 2026 Jun 25;147(26):3179-3194. doi: 10.1182/blood.2024027753.
Heitmann JS, Maringer Y, Jung S, Wacker M, Hackenbruch C, Polster M, Marconato M, Nelde A, Bauer J, Zwick M, Baur AS, Metzger A, Krolla C, Andrieux G, Köhler N, Boerries M, Denk M, Zieschang L, Kammer C, Hoenisch-Gravel N, Richter M, Oezbek MT, Wirths S, Dengler A, Dubbelaar ML, Pumptow M, Martus P, Brüggemann M, Rammensee HG, Salih HR, Walz JS. 2026. Personalised multipeptide-based T-cell activator for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia: an open-label, single-centre, phase 1 study. Lancet Haematol. 13(2):e74-e85. doi: 10.1016/S2352-3026(25)00323-0.
Rassner M, Müller TA, Crossley KA, Andrieux G, Schaberg S, Endres C, Jakob L, Poggio T, Köhler N, Kolter J, Müller-Newen G, Schönberger K, Cabezas-Wallscheid N, Gonzalez-Menendez I, Quintanilla-Martinez L, Zwick M, Ashok D, Hartmann TN, Groß O, Gorka O, Follo M, Illert AL, Boerries M, Zeiser R, Duyster J. 2025. Oncostatin M induced by STAT5-activating oncogenes promotes disease progression in hematologic malignancies. Signal Transduct Target Ther. 2025 Dec 11;10(1):400. doi: 10.1038/s41392-025-02491-6.
Zwick M, Zinkel B, Spohr C, Rückert T, Halbach S, Shoumariyeh K, Scheid J, Baur AS, Braun LM, Angel M, Michaeli E, Todkar A, Nelde A, Märklin M, Holzmayer SJ, Dicks S, Boerries M, Duquesne S, Schlaak AE, Otto-Mora P, Bengsch B, Schiff M, Kissel S, Selle M, Follo M, Altmann H, Kunadt D, Illert AL, Walz JS, Walz G, Duyster J, Schetelig J, Brummer T, Zeiser R, Köhler N. 2025. FLT3-ITD Induces CMTM6 and Enhances Immune Escape in Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Cancer Res. Oct 3. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-25-0349.
Chatterjee S, Rückert T, Martin I, Michaeli E, Buescher J, Apostolova P, Erny D, Lalioti ME, Biavasco F, Hartmann A, Runge S, Braun LM, Talvard-Balland N, Adams RC, Schmitt-Graeff A, Cook J, Wenger V, Athanassopoulos D, Hasavci D, Vallejo-Janeta AP, Blank T, Schaible P, Vinnakota JM, Zähringer A, Ganal-Vonarburg SC, Melchinger W, Pfeifer D, Köhler N, Rosshart SP, Michonneau D, Socié G, Andrieux G, Cabezas-Wallscheid N, Boerries M, Prinz M, Zeiser R. 2025. Gut microbiota-derived TMAVA is a modulator of acute CNS-GVHD. J Exp Med. 2025 Sep 1;222(9):e20242180. doi: 10.1084/jem.20242180.
Braun LM, Giesler S, Andrieux G, Riemer R, Talvard-Balland N, Duquesne S, Rückert T, Unger S, Kreutmair S, Zwick M, Follo M, Hartmann A, Osswald N, Melchinger W, Chapman S, Hutchinson JA, Haferkamp S, Torster L, Kött J, Gebhardt C, Hellwig D, Karantzelis N, Wallrabenstein T, Lowinus T, Yücel M, Brehm N, Rawluk J, Pfeifer D, Bronsert P, Rogg M, Mattern S, Heikenwälder M, Fusco S, Malek NP, Singer S, Schmitt-Graeff A, Ceteci F, Greten FR, Blazar BR, Boerries M, Köhler N, Duyster J, Ihorst G, Lassmann S, Keye P, Minguet S, Schadendorf D, Ugurel S, Rafei-Shamsabadi D, Thimme R, Hasselblatt P, Bengsch B, Schell C, Pearce EL, Meiss F, Becher B, Funke-Lorenz C, Placke JM, Apostolova P, Zeiser R. 2025. Adiponectin reduces immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced inflammation without blocking anti-tumor immunity. Cancer Cell. 2025 Feb 10;43(2):269-291.e19. doi: 10.1016/j.ccell.2025.01.004.
Talvard-Balland N, Braun LM, Dixon KO, Zwick M, Engel H, Hartmann A, Duquesne S, Penter L, Andrieux G, Rindlisbacher LS, Acerbis A, Ehmann J, Köllerer C, Ansuinelli M, Rettig A, Moschallski K, Apostolova P, Brummer T, Illert AL, Schramm MA, Cheng Y, Köttgen A, Duyster J, Menssen HD, Ritz J, Blazar BR, Boerries M, Schmitt Graeff A, Sariipek N, van Galen P, Buescher JM, Cabezas-Wallscheid N, Pahl HL, Pearce EL, Soiffer RJ, Wu CJ, Vago L, Becher B, Köhler N, Wertheimer T, Kuchroo VK, Zeiser R. 2024. Oncogene induced TIM-3 ligand expression dictates susceptibility to anti-TIM-3 therapy in mice. J Clin Invest. e177460. doi: 10.1172/JCI177460.
Schmidt D, Endres C, Hoefflin R, Andrieux G, Zwick M, Karantzelis N, Staehle HF, Vinnakota JM, Duquesne S, Mozaffari Jovein M, Pfeifer D, Becker H, Blazar BR, Zähringer A, Duyster J, Brummer T, Boerries M, Baumeister J, Shoumariyeh K, Li J, Green AR, Heidel FH, Tirosh I, Pahl HL, Leimkühler N, Köhler N, de Toledo MAS, Koschmieder S, Zeiser R. 2024. Oncogenic Calreticulin Induces Immune Escape by Stimulating TGF-β Expression and Regulatory T Cell Expansion in the Bone Marrow Microenvironment. Cancer Res. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-23-3553.
Vinnakota JM, Biavasco F, Schwabenland M, Chhatbar C, Adams RC, Erny D, Duquesne S, El Khawanky N, Schmidt D, Fetsch V, Zähringer A, Salié H, Athanassopoulos D, Braun LM, Javorniczky NR, Ho JNHG, Kierdorf K, Marks R, Wäsch R, Simonetta F, Andrieux G, Pfeifer D, Monaco G, Capitini C, Fry TJ, Blank T, Blazar BR, Wagner E, Theobald M, Sommer C, Stelljes M, Reicherts C, Jeibmann A, Schittenhelm J, Monoranu CM, Rosenwald A, Kortüm M, Rasche L, Einsele H, Meyer PT, Brumberg J, Völkl S, Mackensen A, Coras R, von Bergwelt-Baildon M, Albert NL, Bartos LM, Brendel M, Holzgreve A, Mack M, Boerries M, Mackall CL, Duyster J, Henneke P, Priller J, Köhler N, Strübing F, Bengsch B, Ruella M, Subklewe M, von Baumgarten L, Gill S, Prinz M, Zeiser R. 2024. Targeting TGFβ-activated kinase-1 activation in microglia reduces CAR T immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome. Nat Cancer. May 13. doi: 10.1038/s43018-024-00764-7.
Czech M, Schneider S, Peltokangas N, El Khawanky N, Ghimire S, Andrieux G, Hülsdünker J, Krausz M, Proietti M, Braun LM, Rückert T, Langenbach M, Schmidt D, Martin I, Wenger V, de Vega E, Haring E, Pourjam M, Pfeifer D, Schmitt-Graeff A, Grimbacher B, Aumann K, Kircher B, Tilg H, Raffatellu M, Thiele Orberg E, Häcker G, Duyster J, Köhler N, Holler E, Nachbaur D, Boerries M, Gerner RR, Grün D, Zeiser R. 2024. Lipocalin-2 expression identifies an intestinal regulatory neutrophil population during acute graft-versus-host disease. Sci Transl Med. 2024 Feb 21;16(735):eadi1501. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adi1501.
Wertheimer T, Zwicky P, Rindlisbacher L, Sparano C, Vermeer M, de Melo BMS, Haftmann C, Rückert T, Sethi A, Schärli S, Huber A, Ingelfinger F, Xu C, Kim D, Häne P, Fonseca da Silva A, Muschaweckh A, Nunez N, Krishnarajah S, Köhler N, Zeiser R, Oukka M, Korn T, Tugues S, Becher B. 2024. IL-23 stabilizes an effector Treg cell program in the tumor microenvironment. Nat Immunol. 25(3):512-524. doi: 10.1038/s41590-024-01755-7.
Nelde A, Schuster H, Heitmann JS, Bauer J, Maringer Y, Zwick M, Volkmer JP, Chen JY, Stanger AMP, Lehmann A, Appiah B, Märklin M, Rücker-Braun E, Salih HR, Roerden M, Schroeder SM, Häring MF, Schlosser A, Schetelig J, Schmitz M, Boerries M, Köhler N, Lengerke C, Majeti R, Weissman IL, Rammensee HG, Walz JS. 2023. Immune Surveillance of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Is Mediated by HLA-Presented Antigens on Leukemia Progenitor Cells. Blood Cancer Discov. 4(6):468-489. doi: 10.1158/2643-3230.BCD-23-0020.
