Philipp Steven

FM | Department of Ophthalmology (UHC)

Prof. Dr. Philipp Steven

Principal Investigator, CECAD Cologne

+49 221 478 977 90

philipp.steven[at]uk-koeln.de

Curriculum Vitae

Research Areas

Investigating Eye Disease

Diseases of the ocular surface such as dry-eye affect millions of patients world-wide. Severe forms as Graft-versus-Host Disease may lead to blindness, but treatment options are limited. Translational research develops new diagnosis and treatment forms.

Research Focus

Corneal hem- and lymphangiogenesis in oGVHD. Exemplary corneal flat-mount samples of naïve, syngeneic, and allogeneic transplanted mice 21 days after BMT (CD31 = green, Lyve1 = red; bar = 1 mm)

We aim to understand and treat severe dry-eye and ocular Graft-versus-Host Disease (GVHD). Using model systems and integrating patient data, we unravel pathomechanisms and develop highly effective new diagnostics and treatments. Here, we focus on GVHD immunopathology, risk-factor influence and prevention. We identify new therapeutic targets and work with academic and industrial partners on drug-formulation. We also use non-invasive imaging techniques and deep-learning algorithms to implement novel software for identifying new optical disease biomarkers that allow precise diagnosis and monitoring of therapy.

Translational research by an interdisciplinary group with competent local and supra-regional partners provides direct benefits for patients with dry-eye or ocular GVHD.

Our Goals

Clinical phenotype of ocular GVHD A: Corneal scarring and vascularization, B: severe corneal and conjunctival epitheliopathy, C: conjunctival scarring and shortening of the inferior fornix

Ultimately, we are establishing one of the leading research sites for GVHD. The animal models established and used are internationally competitive. The next goals are to further investigate aging-associated pathomechanisms in ocular graft-versus-host disease and to constantly identifying, testing and translating prophylactic and therapeutic targets into the clinic in order to reduce the prevalence of ocular GVHD to an absolute minimum.

Our successes include:

Within the DFG research unit FOR2240 we focus on angiogenesis as a target for treating ocular GVHD.
Within the EU consortium IT-DED³we identify therapeutic targets in the endocannabinoid system to develop a new topical multifunctional therapy to treat inflammation, tissue damage and pain simultaneously. Promising pre-clinical data resulted in the formulation of candidate substances as topical eyedrops that will be tested in a first clinical trial soon.

Using data from clinically established optical coherence tomography, we generate AI/deep-learning algorithms for automatized data analysis of large data sets. Hereby, we aim at identifying new optical biomarkers to better diagnose disease and quantify disease activity. Close collaboration with regional or international academic and industrial partners in pharmacy and medical-technology underline our translational approach.