Who are we?
Monasterium laboratory was founded by Professor Ralf Paus in 2015. The company, based in Münster (Germany), is one of the world’s leading CROs in the field of skin and hair research, offering unique expertise in investigative dermatology and trichology. Research projects are performed by a team of highly qualified scientists specialized in the physiology and pathology of skin and hair follicle. Our company is also supported by a network of international advisors, physicians and consultants from academia and industry to ensure exceptional scientific work and access to healthy and diseased skin and hair samples.
Monasterium Laboratory is now part of the QIMA Group!
Monasterium Laboratory joined QIMA Life Sciences in March 2022 to further strengthen its current service offer with their pharmaceutical expertise, and particularly in the field of hair and skin diseases.
The combination of our scientific expertise in life sciences allows us to provide a coherent and complementary offer to our clients. We assist them from fundamental research to operational and contractual translational research.
Exclusive in vitro, ex vivo & in vivo models
Monasterium Laboratory offers a unique opportunity to extend the QIMA Life Sciences portfolio of advanced methods, biomarkers and technologies for pre-clinical and clinical research in dermatology and trichology.
In addition to its cutting-edge in vitro cell and ex vivo organ culture models models, Monasterium Laboratory is renowned for its biobank and privileged access to healthy and diseased human skin and hair samples collected via an international and local network of dermatologists, and plastic surgeons.
Monasterium Laboratory is offering pharmaceutical testing and research in humanized mouse models, via a unique collaboration with Prof. Amos Gilhar (Haifa, Israel), as well as small mechanistic clinical trials with collection of skin and blood samples. Monasterium Laboratory expertise extend also to the identification, characterization and validation of new targets by using state-of-the-art techniques and engages in co-development projects with industry partners.
The following is a non-exhaustive list of Monasterium Laboratory’s exclusive models:
in vitro models
- culture of primary cells isolated from diseased tissues
- culture of outer root sheath keratinocytes
- culture of human iPSCs derived neuronal stem cells and co-culture with primary skin cells
- generation and culture of hair follicle organoids (3D cell model)
ex vivo models
Human healthy and diseased hair follicle organ culture ex vivo:
- Healthy anagen VI full-length and amputated hair follicle for investigating different hair follicle function, e.g. anagen/catagen transition, dermal papilla inductivity, stem cells biology, perifollicular immune cell activation, microbiome…
- Experimental modeling of disease-like phenotypes of hair follicle disorders, e.g. alopecia areata (AA), chemo-induced alopecia (CIA), scarring alopecia, etc.
- Exposure of hair follicle to environmental stressors, e.g. UVA, UVB, pollutants
- Hair follicle infection with endogenous microbiome and analysis of antimicrobial mechanisms
- Hair follicle co-culture with immune cells
- Telogen hair follicle organ-culture
- Terminal and intermediate hair follicles from patients with androgentic alopecia (AGA)
Human healthy and diseased scalp skin organ culture ex vivo:
- Healthy scalp skin organ culture to study hair follicle and skin responses using topical and intradermal applications
- Experimental modeling of disease-like phenotypes of hair follicle disorders, including perifollicular immune cell activation, e.g. alopecia areata (AA), chemo-induced alopecia (CIA)
- Exposure of scalp skin to environmental stressors, e.g. UVA, UVB, pollutants
- Scalp skin infection with endogenous microbiome and analysis of antimicrobial mechanisms
- Healthy scalp skin organ culture re-innervated with human iPSCs-derived neurons
- Diseased scalp skin organ culture, e.g. AA, AGA, scarring alopecia, hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), etc.
Human healthy and diseased skin organ culture ex vivo:
- Healthy skin organ culture to study aging, pigmentation, skin barrier, immune cell activation (incl. mast cells), sebaceous gland functions, etc.
- Experimental modeling of disease-like phenotypes of skin disorders, e.g. atopic dermatitis (AD), psoriasis, vitiligo, pathological wound-healing, etc.
- Exposure of skin to environmental stressors, e.g. UVA, UVB, pollutants
- Skin infection with endogenous microbiome and analysis of antimicrobial mechanisms
- Healthy scalp skin organ culture re-innervated with human iPSCs-derived neurons
- Diseased skin organ culture, e.g. AD, psoriasis, vitiligo, etc.
in vivo models
Humanized mouse models for:
- psoriasis
- atopic dermatitis
- alopecia areata
- androgenetic alopecia
- skin aging
- chemo-induced alopecia
- vitiligo (under development)
Methods & Techniques
- Topical application and intradermal injection in human skin organ culture
- gene silencing in hair follicle and skin organ culture
- optical coherence tomography à high resolution skin surface imaging
- atomic force microscopy à nanotexture corneocytes (collaboration)
- in situ hybridization, -zymography and -enzymatic activities
- bulk RNA sequencing and bioinformatic analysis
- 10x genomics, single cell RNA sequencing and bioinformatics analysis
- Laser capture microdissection
- Multi-omics analysis (Proteomics, Lipidomics, Metabolomics)
Click here to find out more about Monasterium Laboratroy services.
