Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, Branch Bioanalytics and Bioprocesses IZI-BB
Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, Branch Bioanalytics and Bioprocesses IZI-BB

Dr. Katja Uhlig

heads the Microsystems for In vitro Cell Models working group

 

Scientific focus and expertise:

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Academic CV
Since 2018 Head of the research group "Microsystems for in vitro cell models"
2014 - 2018

PostDoc at the Fraunhofer IZI-BB
2010 - 2014 PostDoc at the Fraunhofer IBMT

Education
2006 - 2010 PhD thesis at the University of Potsdam: "Investigation of PEG-based thermo-responsive polymer surfaces to control cell adhesion"
2006

Master thesis "Biomimetic realization of a microfluidic actuator based on protein complexes" at Fraunhofer IBMT, Berlin
2004 - 2006

Study Program "Biosystems Technology/Bioinformatics", M.Sc. at the Wildau University of Applied Sciences
2004 Bachelor thesis "Investigations on the chemical and electrical control of functional protein aggregates" at Fraunhofer IBMT, Berlin
2001 - 2004 Study Program "Biosystems Technology/Bioinformatics", B.Sc. at the Wildau University of Applied Sciences
2001 Abitur
Prizes and Scholarships
2017 - 2019

Fraunhofer TALENTA
2014 Award for a project idea by Humboldt-Innovation / Industrial Research Foundation
2004 Recognition of the outstanding academic performance by the VDI
2004 Award for outstanding performance awarded by the Wildau University of Applied Sciences
Memberships
The European Organ-on-Chip Society (EUROoCS)

Katja Uhlig - ORCID: 0000-0002-4002-6139
  • Flechner, M., Schaller, J., Stahl, M., Achberger, K., Gerike, S., Hannappel, Y., Fu, J., Jaeger, M., Hellweg, T., Duschl, C., & Uhlig, K. (2022). Adhesion, proliferation, and detachment of various cell types on thermoresponsive microgel coatings. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 119(7), 1728–1739. https://doi.org/10.1002/bit.28095
  • Gehre, C., Flechner, M., Kammerer, S., Küpper, J.-H., Coleman, C. D., Püschel, G. P., Uhlig, K., & Duschl, C. (2020). Real time monitoring of oxygen uptake of hepatocytes in a microreactor using optical microsensors. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 13700. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-70785-6
  • Behm, L. V. J., Gerike, S., Grauel, M. K., Uhlig, K., Pfisterer, F., Baumann, W., Bier, F. F., Duschl, C., & Kirschbaum, M. (2019). Micropatterned Thermoresponsive Cell Culture Substrates for Dynamically Controlling Neurite Outgrowth and Neuronal Connectivity in Vitro. ACS Applied Bio Materials, 2(7), 2853–2861. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsabm.9b00246
  • Uhlig, K., Wegener, T., Hertle, Y., Bookhold, J., Jaeger, M., Hellweg, T., Fery, A., & Duschl, C. (2018). Thermoresponsive Microgel Coatings as Versatile Functional Compounds for Novel Cell Manipulation Tools. Polymers, 10(6), 656. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym10060656
  • Madaboosi, N., Uhlig, K., Schmidt, S., Vikulina, A. S., Möhwald, H., Duschl, C., & Volodkin, D. (2018). A “Cell-Friendly” Window for the Interaction of Cells with Hyaluronic Acid/Poly- l -Lysine Multilayers. Macromolecular Bioscience, 18(2), 1700319. https://doi.org/10.1002/mabi.201700319
  • Sajfutdinow, M., Uhlig, K., Prager, A., Schneider, C., Abel, B., & Smith, D. M. (2017). Nanoscale patterning of self-assembled monolayer (SAM)-functionalised substrates with single molecule contact printing. Nanoscale, 9(39), 15098–15106. https://doi.org/10.1039/C7NR03696E
  • Vikulina, A. S., Anissimov, Y. G., Singh, P., Prokopović, V. Z., Uhlig, K., Jaeger, M. S., von Klitzing, R., Duschl, C., & Volodkin, D. (2016). Temperature effect on the build-up of exponentially growing polyelectrolyte multilayers. An exponential-to-linear transition point. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 18(11), 7866–7874. https://doi.org/10.1039/C6CP00345A
  • Velk, N., Uhlig, K., Vikulina, A., Duschl, C., & Volodkin, D. (2016). Mobility of lysozyme in poly(l-lysine)/hyaluronic acid multilayer films. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, 147, 343–350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfb.2016.07.055
  • Uhlig, K., Wegener, T., He, J., Zeiser, M., Bookhold, J., Dewald, I., Godino, N., Jaeger, M., Hellweg, T., Fery, A., & Duschl, C. (2016). Patterned Thermoresponsive Microgel Coatings for Noninvasive Processing of Adherent Cells. Biomacromolecules, 17(3), 1110–1116. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.5b01728
  • Uhlig, K., Boerner, H., Wischerhoff, E., Lutz, J.-F., Jaeger, M., Laschewsky, A., & Duschl, C. (2014). On the Interaction of Adherent Cells with Thermoresponsive Polymer Coatings. Polymers, 6(4), 1164–1177. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym6041164
  • Schmidt, S., Uhlig, K., Duschl, C., & Volodkin, D. (2014). Stability and cell uptake of calcium carbonate templated insulin microparticles. Acta Biomaterialia, 10(3), 1423–1430. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2013.11.011
  • Paulraj, T., Feoktistova, N., Velk, N., Uhlig, K., Duschl, C., & Volodkin, D. (2014). Microporous Polymeric 3D Scaffolds Templated by the Layer-by-Layer Self-Assembly. Macromolecular Rapid Communications, 35(16), 1408–1413. https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.201400253
  • Schmidt, S., Behra, M., Uhlig, K., Madaboosi, N., Hartmann, L., Duschl, C., & Volodkin, D. (2013). Mesoporous Protein Particles Through Colloidal CaCO 3 Templates. Advanced Functional Materials, 23(1), 116–123. https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201201321
  • Uhlig, K., Madaboosi, N., Schmidt, S., Jäger, M. S., Rose, J., Duschl, C., & Volodkin, D. V. (2012). 3d localization and diffusion of proteins in polyelectrolyte multilayers. Soft Matter, 8(47), 11786. https://doi.org/10.1039/c2sm26500a
  • Uhlig, K., Boysen, B., Lankenau, A., Jaeger, M., Wischerhoff, E., Lutz, J.-F., Laschewsky, A., & Duschl, C. (2012). On the influence of the architecture of poly(ethylene glycol)-based thermoresponsive polymers on cell adhesion. Biomicrofluidics, 6(2), 024129. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4729130
  • Schmidt, S., Madaboosi, N., Uhlig, K., Köhler, D., Skirtach, A., Duschl, C., Möhwald, H., & Volodkin, D. V. (2012). Control of Cell Adhesion by Mechanical Reinforcement of Soft Polyelectrolyte Films with Nanoparticles. Langmuir, 28(18), 7249–7257. https://doi.org/10.1021/la300635z
  • Madaboosi, N., Uhlig, K., Schmidt, S., Jäger, M. S., Möhwald, H., Duschl, C., & Volodkin, D. V. (2012). Microfluidics meets soft layer-by-layer films: Selective cell growth in 3D polymer architectures. Lab Chip, 12(8), 1434–1436. https://doi.org/10.1039/c2lc40058h
  • Madaboosi, N., Uhlig, K., Jäger, M. S., Möhwald, H., Duschl, C., & Volodkin, D. V. (2012). Microfluidics as A Tool to Understand the Build-Up Mechanism of Exponential-Like Growing Films. Macromolecular Rapid Communications, 33(20), 1775–1779. https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.201200353
  • Uhlig, K., Wischerhoff, E., Lutz, J.-F., Laschewsky, A., Jäger, M. S., Lankenau, A., & Duschl, C. (2010). Monitoring cell detachment on PEG-based thermoresponsive surfaces using TIRF microscopy. Soft Matter, 6, 4262–4267. https://doi.org/10.1039/C0SM00010H
  • Kessel, S., Schmidt, S., Müller, R., Wischerhoff, E., A. Laschewsky, Lutz, J.-F., Uhlig, K., Lankenau, A., Duschl, C., & Fery, A. (2010). Thermoresponsive PEG-based polymer layers: Surface characterization with AFM force measurements. Langmuir, 26(5), 3462–3467.
  • Wischerhoff, E., Glatzel, S., Uhlig, K., Lankenau, A., J-F. Lutz, & Laschewsky, A. (2009). Tuning the thickness of polymer brushes grafted from nonlinearly growing multilayer assemblies. Langmuir, 25(10), 5949–5956.
  • Wischerhoff, E., Uhlig, K., Lankenau, A., Börner, H. G., Laschewsky, A., Duschl, C., & Lutz, J.-F. (2008). Controlled cell adhesion on PEG-based switchable surfaces. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl, 47(30), 5666–5668.
  • Uhlig, K., Jaeger, M. S., Lisdat, F., & Duschl, C. (2008). A Biohybrid Microfluidic Valve Based on Forisome Protein Complexes. Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems, 17(6), 1322–1328. https://doi.org/10.1109/JMEMS.2008.2007241
  • Jaeger, M. S., Uhlig, K., Clausen-Schaumann, H., & Duschl, C. (2008). The structure and functionality of contractile forisome protein aggregates. Biomaterials, 29(2), 247–256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2007.09.020
  • Jaeger, M. S., Uhlig, K., Schnelle, T., & Mueller, T. (2008). Contact-free single-cell cultivation by negative dielectrophoresis. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 41(17), 175502. https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/41/17/175502
  • Gast, F.-U., Dittrich, P. S., Schwille, P., Weigel, M., Mertig, M., Opitz, J., Queitsch, U., Diez, S., Lincoln, B., Wottawah, F., Schinkinger, S., Guck, J., Käs, J., Smolinski, J., Salchert, K., Werner, C., Duschl, C., Jäger, M. S., Uhlig, K., … Howitz, S. (2006). The microscopy cell (MicCell), a versatile modular flowthrough system for cell biology, biomaterial research, and nanotechnology. Microfluidics and Nanofluidics, 2(1), 21–36. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-005-0047-6

  • Development and production of functional coatings for cell cultivation and tissue engineering applications: coatings of thermoresponsive polymers to control cell adhesion on cell culture substrates, polyelectrolyte layers (layer-by-layer (LbL) deposition) as reservoirs for biomolecules to control adherent cells, layers (self-assembled monolayers (SAM)) of polymers and biomolecules to improve the biocompatibility of synthetic surfaces.
  • Design and development of microbioreactors for long-term cultivation of sophisticated cell models
  • Integration of microsensors into microfluidic systems for real-time detection of cell media parameters (e.g. oxygen, pH, glucose, lactate)
  • Development of in vitro test systems for the evaluation of toxicity of chemicals, pharmaceutical agents and components of cosmetics
  • Storage and cultivation of eukaryotic cells at S1 level (mammalian cells, insect cells, primary cells, cell lines)
  • Polyelectrolyte layers (layer-by-layer (LbL) deposition) as reservoirs for biomolecules to control adherent cells, layers (self-assembled monolayers (SAM)) of polymers and biomolecules to improve the biocompatibility of synthetic surfaces
  • Techniques for the preparation of homogeneous and structured coatings: Spin coating, dip coating, spraying, spotting, printing (µ-contact printing)
  • Comprehensive range of methods for non-invasive investigation and characterization of surfaces and coatings: Contact angle determination, ellipsometry, surface plasmon spectroscopy (SPR), fluorescence microscopic techniques, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP), atomic force microscopy (AFM)
  • Time-resolved investigation of cell adhesion on functionalized surfaces using total internal reflection microscopy (TIRFM)