Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. techn. Dr. med. habil. Harald Mischak

Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. techn. Dr. med. habil. Harald Mischak

Biography

Harald Mischak, born 1961 St. Pölten in Austria, received his PhD in technical science from the Technical University of Vienna, Austria, in 1986. Between 1988 and 1993, after postdoctoral work on the Rhinovirus receptor at the University of Vienna (Institute for Biochemistry), he was on leave as an invited scientist on signalling by protein kinase C and Raf at the Laboratory of Viral Carcinogenesis (funded by the Fulbright Foundation) and as a Schroedinger and Fogarty Fellow at the Laboratory of Genetics of NIH National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.

He continued his research on kinases as Group Leader at the GSF - National Research Center for Environment and Health, Munich, Germany from 1993-1998. He wrote his habilitation in clinical microbiology at the Technische Universität München on Protein Kinase C in Signal Transduction. After one year as a scientific group leader at Franz-Volhard Klinikum (MDC) at Berlin-Buch, he worked on the structure of kinases and related molecules at the NIDDK, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. In 1999 he took up a position at the Department of Nephrology at Medical School of Hannover. Here he founded Mosaiques diagnostics and therapeutics AG in 2002, which was started with the aim to identify disease-specific polypeptides. Currently, he is the chief scientific officer of Mosaiques AG as well as executive director of Mosaiques diagnostics GmbH and Mosaiques DiaPat GmbH. With more than 400 scientific publications on signaling and proteomics that have been cited over 32.000 times (h-index 96 in Google), he is one of the leading experts worldwide in the field of proteome research, personalized medicine and applied systems biology. In addition, more than 100 patent applications have been filed with Prof. Mischak named as inventor, the majority on proteomic biomarkers.

Among his major achievements is the identification of distinct biological roles of Protein Kinase C. He was the first to show that Protein Kinase C isoforms display highly divergent biological properties, and he described these in differentiation and oncogenic transformation (Mischak et al. 1993, J Biol Chem 268, 1749-1756 and 20110-20115) and associated these with distinct intracellular localization (Goodnight, Mischak, et al. 1995, J Biol Chem 270:9991-10001). Together with Walter Kolch (for Raf signaling, e.g. Kolch et al. 1993, Nature 364:249-252) and Hans Hacker (for CpG signaling, e.g. Hacker, Mischak et al. 1998, EMBO J 17:6230-6240) he pinpointed the role of kinases in several major signaling mechanisms. All of these manuscripts have been cited several hundred times. Based on his experience on proteomics in basic research, he initiated the use of urinary proteomics and capillary electrophoresis coupled mass spectrometry for clinical application, and is the leading authority in clinical proteomics and biomarker identification. Among his achievement in this field are the development of guidelines for clinical proteome analysis, where he led a large international and multidisciplinary group to develop clinically relevant proteomic biomarkers (Mischak et al. 2007, Proteomics Clin Appl 1:148-156; 2010, Sci Transl Med 2:46ps42; 2012, Eur. J Clin Invest 42, 1027-1036), and the demonstration of successful application in the diagnosis and prognosis of several diseases (e.g. Decramer et al. 2006, Nat. Med. 12:398-400; Theodorescu et al. 2006, Lancet Oncol. 7:230-240; Rossing et al. 2008, JASN 19:1283-1290; Good et al. 2010, Molecular & Cellular Proteomics 9:2424-2437; Kuznetsova et al. 2012, Eur. Heart J. 33, 2342-2350).

The two main focuses of Prof Mischak’s work are:

  1. identification, validation, and implementation of proteomic biomarkers, aiming especially at biomarkers associated with chronic kidney disease, coronary artery disease, heart failure, and certain types of cancer
  2. uncovering the molecular changes on a proteomic level that are relevant in, or even cause of, the major diseases mentioned above. This approach is based on the biomarkers identified, but also on addition proteomic, metabolomic and genomic data. Using appropriate bioinformatic approaches, the high-dimensional data will be combined to identify the underlying molecular structures and ultimately develop a molecular model of the respective disease, which in turn will allow identifying the most appropriate therapeutic targets for intervention, and implementation of personalized precision medicine.

 

CURRICULUM VITAE

Name: Harald Mischak
Date of Birth: 4.6.1961,      Nationality: Austrian
ORCID ID: 0000-0003-0323-0306
Current Post: Executive Director of Mosaiques Diagnostics GmbH, Chief Scientifc Officer of Mosaiques Diagnostics & Therapeutics AG
email: mischak@mosaiques-diagnostics.com
Telephon: (+49)-511-554744-13
Fax: (+49)-511-554744-31

 

Degrees & Honors

Dipl.-Ing. (with distinction)   1984
Dr. techn. (with distinction)   1986
Dr. med. habil   1995

 

Education

1971 - 1979 Realistisches Gymnasium (Grammar school with emphasis on science) in St. Pölten, Austria
1979 Matura with good Honors (school leaving certificate)
1979 - 1984 Department of Chemistry, Science Faculty Technical University of Vienna, Austria
1982 1. Diploma in Chemistry
1984 2. Diploma in Chemistry
1984 - 1986 Thesis at the University of Vienna, Subject: Immunotoxins
1986 - 1993 Post-Doc at the Institute for Biochemistry, University of Vienna (on leave from 1989-93), Austria
Sep.-Dec.1988 Invited scientist (funded by the Fulbright Foundation) to the Laboratory of Viral Carcinogenesis, NlH, NCI, FCRF, Frederick, Maryland, USA
1989 - 1990 Schroedinger Fellow at the Laboratory of Genetics, NIH, NCI, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
1990 - 1993 Fogarty Fellow at the Laboratory of Genetics, NIH, NCI, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
1993 - 1997 Scientific Group Leader (equivalent to assistant professor) at the Institute for Clinical Molecular Biology, GSF, Munich, Germany
1998 - 1998 Scientific Group Leader at the Technical University of Munich, Institute for Immunology, Munich, Germany
1998 - 1999 Scientific Group Leader at Franz-Volhard Klinikum, MDC, Berlin, Germany
1998 - 1999 Visiting Scientist (equivalent to guest professor) in the Laboratory of Molecular Biology, NIDDK, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
1999 - 2006 Professor, Medical School Hannover, Germany
2010 - 2017 Professor, BHF Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre University of Glasgow, UK
2017 - date Visiting Professor, BHF Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre University of Glasgow, UK
2002 - date Director of Mosaiques Diagnostics GmbH, Hannover, Germany

 

Membership in Professional Societies

Gesellschaft für Nephrologie 2004
EUTOX 2004
ERA-EDTA 2011

 

Editorial Work

Senior Editor - Proteomics Clin. Appl. 2007
Section Editor - International Journal of Artificial Organs 2008
Academic Editor PLOS One 2013
Executive Advisory Board Proteomics 2014
Academic Editor Scientific Reports 2019

 

Membership in European Networks

PREDICTIONS 2004
INCA 2004
InGenious HyperCare 2006
Stemdiagnostics 2006
UROSYSTEOMICS 2006
GENINCA 2007
PREDIVA 2007
SysKID 2008
HEPACUTE 2009
EuroKUP 2009
ProtoClin 2010
PRIORITY 2011
MASCARA 2011
TrasnCyst 2012
CodeAge 2012
BCMolMed 2012
HOMAGE 2012
Frailomics 2012
BioMargin 2012
SysVasc 2013
CKD-BIO 2013
TransBioBC 2013
iMODE-CKD 2014
EURenOmics 2015
CaReSyAn 2017
ProACT 2017
PerstTIgAN 2018
Kidney Attack 2018
DCRen 2019
STRATEGY-CKD 2020

 

Bibliography

Link to PubMed