Prof. Dr. Dr. Holger Jahr

Holger Jahr is DIAS Professor of Anatomy and Translational Biomedicine at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), Odense, and remains affiliated as Head of Medical Technology Development at the Institute of Structural Mechanics and Lightweight Design (SLA), RWTH Aachen University, Germany. Trained as a molecular biologist, he became a biomedical researcher specialised in musculoskeletal regeneration, biomaterials, and translational orthopaedics.

He earned his MSc in Microbiology and Genetic Engineering from the University of Bielefeld, where he also completed his first doctorate (Dr. rer. nat.). Postdoctoral work followed at the Department of Molecular Genetics, University Medical Center Groningen (2000–2001), before he joined Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, where he worked in the Department of Internal Medicine (2001–2005) and the Department of Orthopaedics (2001–2013), later heading the Molecular Orthopaedics laboratory. In 2007 he was a visiting scientist at Stanford University. Moving to RWTH Aachen University in 2013, he first led Orthopaedic Research at the Medical Faculty, then pursued formal anatomical training, earning a second doctorate (Dr. rer. medic.) in Theoretical Medicine and qualifying as a board-certified anatomist (Fachanatom). This underpinned an extended habilitation granting him venia legendi in both anatomy and experimental orthopaedics at the Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology of the Medical Faculty.

His research investigates how musculoskeletal cells and tissues respond to their physicochemical microenvironment — osmotic, mechanical, and biochemical stimuli — with the long-term goal of developing disease-modifying therapies for musculoskeletal disorders. He is recognised as a pioneer in the additive manufacturing of metallic medical devices, having contributed extensively to the design of lightweight, porous, patient-specific implants using absorbable metals such as magnesium, zinc, and iron, as well as lattice-structured titanium scaffolds. His work bridges fundamental biology and clinical translation by integrating omics approaches with pharmacokinetics, and he has been an active contributor to major European research programmes, including the EU FP7 project D-BOARD and the PRosPERoS cross-border initiative on personalised orthopaedic implants.

His contributions have been recognised with several distinguished awards, including the ICRS/Genzyme Excellence in Cartilage Research Award, the Klee Family Biomedical Innovation Award (2017), and the first European-American ORS Collaborative Exchange Grant. He has authored or co-authored almost 200 peer-reviewed publications, with close to 10,000 citations and an h-index of 54 (Google Scholar). He is Past President of the European Orthopaedic Research Society (EORS) and currently Chair of the ORS Collaborations Council. He holds Fellowship of the Orthopaedic Research Society (FORS), the International Combined Orthopaedic Research Societies (FIOR), and the Royal Society of Biology (RSB), reflecting his standing within the global musculoskeletal research community.

Within the context of the COST Action I Am Regen, Holger contributes cross-disciplinary expertise spanning molecular and cell biology, biomaterials science, additive manufacturing, and clinical orthopaedics — with a particular focus on translating mechanistic insight into implantable, regenerative solutions for musculoskeletal disease. His combined background in basic science, applied engineering, and anatomy positions him to support collaborative work at the interface of tissue regeneration, biomaterial design, and clinical application across the Action's network.