Skip to content

Nicola M. Tomas

University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf

Dr. Nicola Martin Tomas, MD is an attending physician and scientist in the III. Department of Medicine, Nephrology, at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). He specializes in internal medicine and nephrology, focusing on clinical practice and research related to immune-mediated kidney diseases. Dr. Tomas completed his medical studies at the University of Witten/Herdecke, graduating with high honors in 2011. Following his education, he gained valuable experience as a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology in France, where he worked under the guidance of Professor Gérard Lambeau. 

Tomas_Nicola_hoch-51358262

His research has significantly contributed to the understanding of membranous nephropathy, particularly through the identification of THSD7A as a podocyte target antigen in a subset of patients, which has enhanced both diagnosis and treatment approaches. In 2019, he became a group leader at UKE, where he led the Emmy Noether Research Group “Molecular Mechanisms of Membranous Nephropathy” and continues to guide several projects in the area of antibody-mediated kidney diseases such as anti-nephrin-associated podocytopathy. For his latest research project AUTO-TARGET (“Antigen-specific treatments to target autoimmune kidney diseases”) he is supported by a starting grant from the European Research Council (ERC). His efforts have been recognized with several prestigious awards, including the Dr. Martini Prize for his groundbreaking work on anti-THSD7A antibodies, the Hans U. Zollinger Prize of the German Society of Nephrology, and the scientific honorary award of the German Society of Nephrology for his landmark work on anti-nephrin antibodies.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

With his leitmotif of “Understanding antibody-mediated kidney disease to pave the way for antigen-specific future treatments,” Dr. Tomas aims to advance nephrology through innovative research in the field of autoimmune kidney diseases, particularly focusing on autoantibody-mediated podocytopathies and the development of specifically targeted therapies for them.

Green and blue abstract background

In one sentence, what advice would you give an early career researcher?

Quality tops quantity!

NICOLA TOMAS