Who Are We?

The Translational Pruritus Research is a research group funded by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG). The research group is composed of scientists and experts in the field of pruritus research in Germany with different specialties, including dermatology, neurophysiology, anesthesiology, neurology, gastroenterology and radiology:

The project heads are Martin Schmelz of the University of Heidelberg (speaker of the research group) and Sonja Ständer of the University of Münster (deputy speaker of the research group).

Chronic pruritus (AKA chronic itch) is a major clinical complaint not only associated with various dermatological diseases, but also prevalent cholestasis and renal failure, diabetes, lymphoma, cancer and anti-cancer therapy, neurological and psychiatric diseases. It has a high prevalence in the middle-aged and elderly populations.

To this day, target-specific therapies are still missing.

Patients worldwide still suffer from this symptom that severely impacts their quality of life. Most forms of chronic itch are difficult to treat. Complications have always arisen regarding the development of targeted therapies due to a lack of pathophysiological concepts and knowledge on specific itch mediators.

With this initiative, we hope to unravel the mysteries behind the novel mechanisms of itch and its association with pain and to identify new treatment targets.

Ultimately, our project will contribute to our knowledge of the most promising mechanism-based therapeutic targets for chronic itch.

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Experts Involved in the Collaborative Research Group:

Name	Institution	Expertise	Project
Prof. Martin Schmelz	Heidelberg University	Pain Research	1, 3
Prof. Roman Rukwied	Heidelberg University	Pain Research	1, 3
Dr. Walter Magerl	Heidelberg University	Neurophysiology	Z
Prof. Matthias Ringkamp	Heidelberg University/ Johns Hopkins University	Anesthesiology	3
Prof. Sonja Ständer	Münster University	Dermatology	2, 6, Z
Dr. Konstantin Agelopoulos	Münster University	Biology	2, Z
Prof. Esther Pogatzki-Zahn	Münster University	Anesthesiology	4, 6
Prof. Bettina Pfleiderer	Münster University	Radiology	4, 6
Dr. Philipp Bruland	Münster University	Informatics	Z
Prof. Martin Dugas	Münster University	Informatics	Z
Prof. Claudia Sommer	Würzburg University	Neurology	4
Prof. Frank Birklein	Mainz University	Neurology	4
Prof. Bernhard Homey	Düsseldorf University	Dermatology	5
Prof. Ulrike Raap	Oldenburg University	Dermatology	5
Dr. Andeas Kremer	Erlangen University	Internal Medicine	7
Prof. Peter Reeh	Erlangen University	Neurophysiology	7
Dr. Barbara Namer	Erlangen University	Physiology	7