Last updated: March 1, 2026
The peer-reviewed work behind BLUU's platform: fish skin and cell biology on one side, protein science and the extracellular matrix on the other.
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer · ORCID
His research spans fish skin biology, marine bio-actives, comparative cell systems and bioprocess translation.
Why fish skin matters for dermatology — the scientific case for using fish skin biology in investigative dermatology.
Rakers S. et al. (2010). ‘Fish matters’: the relevance of fish skin biology to investigative dermatology. Experimental Dermatology. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0625.2009.01059.x
Bioactive peptides from fish skin — antimicrobial peptides from fish epidermis and their perspectives for dermatology.
Rakers S. et al. (2013). Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs) from Fish Epidermis: Perspectives for Investigative Dermatology. Journal of Investigative Dermatology. doi:10.1038/jid.2012.503
Salmonid skin cells in culture — long-term full-skin and short-term scale cell cultures from rainbow trout, a salmonid species.
Rakers S. et al. (2011). Pros and cons of fish skin cells in culture: long-term full skin and short-term scale cell culture from rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss. European Journal of Cell Biology. doi:10.1016/j.ejcb.2011.08.003
Tracking cell line stability during development — how cellular characteristics change while a new fish cell line is established.
Rakers S. et al. (2018). Monitoring changing cellular characteristics during the development of a fin cell line from Cyprinus carpio. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B. doi:10.1016/j.cbpb.2018.06.003
Quality control for new cell lines — how viral infection affects cell line characteristics, and what it means for working with new lines.
Felten et al. (2022). The influence of viral infection on cell line characteristics: lessons learned from working with new cell lines from common carp. Journal of Fish Diseases. doi:10.1111/jfd.13698
New marine cell lines — establishment of a cell line from Atlantic herring.
Langner et al. (2011). New cell line from adipopancreatic tissue of Atlantic herring Clupea harengus. Aquatic Biology. doi:10.3354/ab00317
Expanding salmonid cells in vitro — in vitro expansion of functional structures from rainbow trout.
Grunow et al. (2010). In vitro expansion of autonomously contracting, cardiomyogenic structures from rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. Journal of Fish Biology. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2009.02535.x
Why defined conditions decide reproducibility — the importance of precisely defined culture conditions in comparative fish cell studies.
Rebl et al. (2021). Plasma treatment of fish cells: the importance of defining cell culture conditions in comparative studies. Applied Sciences. doi:10.3390/app11062534
VP Research & Development · ORCID
His work focuses on protein science, molecular characterization, structure/function relationships and applied biochemistry.
How a key skin-matrix protein assembles — structural analysis of fibronectin, a central protein of the extracellular matrix.
Schiefner A. et al. (2012). Extra-domain B in oncofetal fibronectin structurally promotes fibrillar head-to-tail dimerization of extracellular matrix protein. Journal of Biological Chemistry. doi:10.1074/jbc.M111.303131
How cells recognize glycation products — the structural basis of the receptor RAGE, which binds advanced glycation end products.
Koch et al. (2010). Structural basis for ligand recognition and activation of RAGE. Structure. doi:10.1016/j.str.2010.05.017
Natural protein scaffolds for molecular recognition — a review of human lipocalins and how they bind physiological compounds.
Schiefner A. et al. (2015). The menagerie of human lipocalins: a natural protein scaffold for molecular recognition of physiological compounds. Accounts of Chemical Research. doi:10.1021/ar5003973
BLUU's bioprocessing is led by Dr. Karen Wohlers, Head of Bioprocessing (ORCID). The full team is introduced on our About page.