CIMR-Yuval Rinkevich

Research Group

Yuval Rinkevich

yuval.rinkevich(at)cimrbj.ac.cn

Lab Website

Distinguished Investigator

Tissue Repair and Regeneration,

Inflammatory and Fibrotic Disease,

Stem Cells

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yuval.rinkevich(at)cimrbj.ac.cn

Lab Website

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Bachelor of Science (BSc), Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Israel

Master of Science (MSc), Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

Doctorate in Biology (PhD), Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

Work Experience

2024-Present

Distinguished Investigator and Director, Chinese Institute for Regenerative Biology and Medicine, Chinese Institutes for Medical Research, Beijing, China

2024-Present

Chair Professor, Capital Medical University, China

2021-2024

Institute Director, Institute for Regenerative Biology and Medicine (IRBM), Helmholtz Center Munich, Germany

Since 2019

Tenured Principal Investigator, Institute for Lung Biology and Disease; Helmholtz Center Munich, Germany

2015-2019

PI of Research Group, Institute for Lung Biology and Disease; Helmholtz Center Munich, Germany

2014-2015

Basic Life Science Research Associate, Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University (Prof. Irving L. Weissman, Advisor)

2008-2014

Post doctorate, Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University (Prof. Irving L. Weissman, Advisor)

Honors and Awards

2026

New Corner Stone Investigator

2026

High-Level Talent at the Beijing Municipal Level

2026

High-Level Talent at the National Level

2026

The Research Fund for International Senior Scientists (RFIS-III)

2019-2024

ERC Consolidator Grant Award

2017-2018

Early Career Investigator Fund, The Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development

2017

Outstanding Scientific Achievements, Helmholtz Zentrum München

2016-2019

Career Development Award, Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP)

2009-2012

Long-Term Fellowship, Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP）

Research Interests

The Rinkevich laboratory investigates the mechanisms of repair and regeneration in injured tissues and organs. The research goal is to elucidate the pivotal cellular and molecular regulatory processes underpinning these phenomena, thereby providing the scientific basis for developing clinical regenerative medicine and therapeutic strategies.

Major Contributions

1. Established key concepts orchestrating injured organ regeneration from fate-restricted stem cells: in limbs (Nat, 2011), at organ surfaces (Nat Cell Biol, 2012), and within the kidney (Cell Reports, 2012), skin (PNAS, 2014), and liver (PNAS, 2017).

2. Discovered fibroblast heterogeneity reformulates how and why scarring can occur in mammalian tissues and the mechanisms behind the switch between fetal regenerative healing to scarring (Science, 2015; Nat Cell Biol, 2018).

3. Development of new clinical interventions for connective tissue pathologies including skin scarring (Science, 2015) and internal organ fibroses, including surgical adhesions (PNAS, 2017; Sci Trans Med, 2017; Nat Commun, 2020).

4. Unveiled fascia as a depot of pre-made mobile ECM fueling a new paradigm of tissue repair in multiple organs (Nat, 2019; Nat Commun, 2020; Nat Immunol, 2022; Nat, 2023).

Representative Publications *：Co-first author; #：Co-corresponding author

Correa-Gallegos D^*, Ye H^*, Dasgupta B^*, Sardogan A, Kadri S, Kandi R, Dai R, Lin Y, Kopplin R, Shenai Disha S, Wannemacher J, Ichijo R, Jiang D, Strunz M, Ansari M, Angelidis I, Schiller H, Voltz T, Machens HG, Rinkevich Y. Spatiotemporal differentiation of CD201-expressing fascia progenitors choreographs injury repair. Nature, 2023, 623: 792-802. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06725-x

Fischer A^*, Correa-Gallegos D^*, Wannemacher J, Christ S, Machens HG, Rinkevich Y. In vivo fluorescent labeling and tracking of Extracellular Matrix. Nature Protocols, 2023, 18: 2876-2890. DOI: 10.1038/s41596-023-00867-y

Gopal KS^*, Dai R, Stefanska AM^*, Ansari M, Zhao J, Ramesh P, Bagnoli JW, Correa-Gallegos D, Lin Y, Christ S, Angelidis I, Lupperger V, Marr C, Davies LC, Enard W, Machens HG, Schiller HB, Jiang D, Rinkevich Y. Wound infiltrating adipocytes are not myofibroblasts. Nature Communications, 2023, 14: 3020. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38591-6

Fischer A^*, Wannemacher J^*, Christ S^*, Koopmans T, Kadri S, Zhao J, Gouda M, Ye H, Mück-Häusl M, Krenn PW, Machens HG, Fässler R, Neuman PA, Hauck S, Rinkevich Y. Neutrophils direct preexisting matrix in to initiate repair of damaged organs. Nature Immunology, 2022, 23: 518–531. DOI: 10.1038/s41590-022-01166-6

Jiang D^*, Christ S^*, Correa-Gallegos D^*, Ramesh P^*, Kalgudde Gopa S, Wannemacher J, Mayr C, Lupperger V, Yu Q, Ye H, Mück-Häusl M, Rajendran V, Wan L, Liu J, Mirastschijski U, Volz T, Marr C, Schiller H, Rinkevich Y. Fascia fibroblasts swarm to drive scar formation through N-cadherin. Nature Communications, 2020, 11: 5653. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19425-1

Fischer A^*, Koopmans T^*, Ramesh P, Christ S, Strunz M, Aichler M, Feuchtinger A, Walch A, Ansari M, Theis FJ, Schorpp K, Hadian K, Neumann PA, Schiller HB, Rinkevich Y. Post-surgical adhesions are caused by membrane bridges and fusions between mesothelial surfaces. Nature Communications, 2020, 11: 3068. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16893-3

Correa-Gallegos D^*, Jiang D^*, Christ S, Ramesh P, Ye H, Wannemacher J, Kalgudde Gopal S, Yu Q, Aichler M, Walch A, Mirastschijski U, Volz T, Rinkevich Y. Patch repair of deep wounds by mobilized fascia. Nature, 2019, 576: 287-292. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1794-y

Jiang D^*, Correa-Gallegos D^*, Christ S, Stefanska A, Liu J, Ramesh P, Rajendran V, Wagner D, Rinkevich Y. Two succeeding fibroblastic lineages drive dermal development and the transition from regeneration to scarring. Nature Cell Biology, 2018, 20: 422-431. DOI: 10.1038/s41556-018-0073-8

Tsai JM^*, Sinha R^*, Seita J, Fernhoff N, Christ S, Koopmans T, Krampitz GW, McKenna KM, Xing L, Shoham M, McCracken M, Joubert LM, Gordon SR, Poux N, Wernig G, Norton JA, Sandholzer M, Sales J, Weissman IL, Rinkevich Y. Surgical adhesions in mice are derived from mesothelial cells and can be targeted by antibodies against mesothelial markers. Science Translational Medicine, 2018, 10: 469. DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aan6735

Rinkevich Y^*, Walmsley GG^*, Hu MS^*, Maan ZN^*, Newman AM, Drukker M, Lorenz PH, Weissman IL, Longaker MT. Identification and Targeted inhibition of a Dermal Lineage Responsible for Scarring and Cancer Stroma. Science, 2015, 348: 420-431. DOI: 10.1126/science.aaa2151