New adjunct professor
Department of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark has appointed Dr. rer. physiol. habil. Julia Reichelt as an adjunct professor at the Department of Dermatology and Allergy Centre, Odense University Hospital.
Julia Reichelt, who is 53 years of age, is a senior researcher at the EB House in Salzburg, Austria, where she has been head of research since 2015. Before that she was a lecturer in epidermal stem cell biology and principal investigator at Newcastle University, England. She is leading a Center of Expertise on Genodermatoses with a focus on epidermolysis bullosa within the European Reference Network (ERN)-Skin.
The collaboration with the Department of Dermatology will focus on translational research within rare and complex genodermatoses, with a focus on the keratinocyte-associated diseases like epidermolysis bullosa simplex and epidermolytic ichthyosis. Dr. Reichelt and her research team are working with the regulation of keratinocyte stem cells and gene therapies using TALEN- and CRISPR-mediated gene editing. Last year she co-authored a paper in Nature showing that autologous transgenic keratinocyte cultures could regenerate an entire, fully functional epidermis on a seven-year-old child suffering from a life-threatening form of junctional epidermolysis bullosa.
Julia Reichelt comments: “To be awarded an adjunct professorship at the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Southern Denmark is a great honor, and I am looking forward to forge fruitful and lasting collaborations between Odense and Salzburg in the years to come. There are excellent opportunities for joint projects especially in the area of rare genodermatoses, with respect to both basic and clinical research. I am particularly looking forward to interact with students at the SDU, and explore and facilitate exchange visits of young researchers and clinicians.”
Research leader and professor Anette Bygum from the Department of Dermatology and Allergy Centre is also looking very much forward to the new collaboration, which is expected to strengthen their position in ERN-Skin. Next month 2 physicians and 2 nurses will travel to the EB House in Salzburg for a study visit and to further substantiate the possibilities of research collaborations.
Meet the professor
Julia Reichelt, adjunct professor at the Department of Dermatology and Allergy Centre, OUH and Department of Clinical Research