Biography
Kirsten Haastert-Talini received her DVM degree in 1999 from the School of Veterinary Medicine Hannover (TiHo). For her doctoral training and research she joined the Dept. of Pharmacology, Toxicology & Pharmacy at TiHo and the Dept. of Neurosurgery at the Hannover Medical School (MHH). Under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Thomas Brinker, Prof. Dr. Angelika Richter and Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Madjid Samii she defended her degree (Dr. med. vet.) in 2002. The same year she joined the group of Prof. Dr. Claudia Grothe at the Institute of Neuroanatomy and Cell Biology at Hannover Germany for post-doctoral training and research.
In 2005 she was a visiting scientist for several months in the group of Prof. Fernando Gomez-Pinilla at the David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Dept. of Physiological Science & Dept. of Neurosurgery. After her return to the Institute of Neuroanatomy and Cell Biology at MHH, she became a principal investigator and a lecturer for anatomy. In 2009 Kirsten Haastert-Talini defended her habilitation and is since 2011 Adjunct Professor at the Institute of Neuroanatomy and Cell Biology, MHH.
Since more than 20 years her main area of research is peripheral nerve repair and regeneration. Within her research group various in vitro models and in vivo peripheral nerve reconstruction rat models have been established and used to evaluate new matrices and scaffolds for peripheral nerve regeneration in combination with neurotrophic factors and transplanted genetically modified supporting cells. She published numerous peer-reviewed original and review articles, authored a number of book chapters and edited a book with Springer International.
Additionally she is a senior lecturer for anatomy with special focus on neuroanatomy, teaching medical and dental medicine students, Bachelor (Biology, Biochemistry), Master (Biochemistry). and PhD students (Systems Neuroscience). She has been the main supervisor and co-supervisor of more than 30 BSc, MSc theses and PhD theses. She is member of the scientific advisory board of the German Interdisciplinary Study Group for peripheral nerves – NervClub e.V. and founding member and treasurer of the European Society for the Study of Peripheral Nerve Repair and Regeneration, ESPNR e.V.
Kirsten Haastert-Talini has been involved as scientist, PI and coordination board member, several funded national and international collaborative projects. Recently she has shifted her focus to the field of traumatic limb amputations and the question of how peripheral nerve tissue could be preserved at best under ex vivo limb perfusion conditions for successful nerve recovery upon limb replantation. The project is funded by a contract of the German Armed Forces (2021-2024) and the PIs (Co-PI: PD Dr. Bettina Wiegmann, MHH) plan also to consider research on mechanisms resulting in the development of neuropathic pain after replantation. A second emerging focus is on the influence of gut microbiota on the development and regeneration of peripheral nerves, the collaborative project (Co-PIs: Prof. Giulia Ronchi, Turin, Italy; Prof. Matilde Cescon, Padova, Italy; Dr. Marijana Basic, Hannover Medical School) is based on the analysis of gnotobiotic and germ-free mice before and after nerve crush injury.