Isis Fernandez | Stopping Lung Fibrosis | Helmholtz Munich

Dr. Isis E. Fernandez

Team Leader

+49 89 3187 1663 isis.fernandez@helmholtz-munich.de

“My vision is to stop the progression of pulmonary fibrosis.”

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Isis Fernandez completed her medical training at Rafael Núñez University in Cartagena, Colombia. She transitioned into research, joining Harvard Medical School in Boston in 2009 for a voluntary research stay despite having no formal prior research training. There, she was introduced to translational studies in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), an experience that defined her scientific direction. In 2011, she moved to Helmholtz Munich as a research fellow and went on to complete structured doctoral training in medical research and experimental pulmonology in 2018. Her dissertation, based on mechanistic studies in human and animal models of lung fibrosis, was recognized with dissertation awards from both the LMU Medical Faculty and the German Respiratory Society. In parallel, she transitioned back into clinical medicine in Germany, obtained recognition of her medical degree, and joined LMU Klinikum for specialist training in pulmonary medicine. She now holds dual appointments at LMU Klinikum and Helmholtz Munich, where she combines pulmonary medicine with independent translational research. Since 2025, this work has been further advanced through her ERC Starting Grant OMEGA.

Isis Fernandez’s research focuses on three connected areas of translational fibrosis research: early detection of pulmonary fibrosis, molecular mechanisms of tissue remodeling, and innate immune drivers of disease progression. She contributed to the discovery and characterization of interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA) as the earliest detectable stage of pulmonary fibrosis, helping establish a new framework for studying preclinical disease. Building on her previous work, she combined animal models, matrix biology, and spatial metabolomics to identify biomarkers and therapeutic targets across the initiation, peak, and resolution of lung fibrosis. More recently, her work has centered on mononuclear myeloid cells and the mechanisms of migration, priming, and plasticity that shape fibrotic progression. By integrating patient cohorts, mechanistic models, and clinical insight, Isis Fernandez’s research aims to enable earlier diagnosis, secondary prevention, and more precise therapies for patients with fibrotic lung disease.

Pulmonary medicine idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis progressive pulmonary fibrosis personalized prevention lung immunity physican-scientist research

2025 - 2030

Since 2019

Since 2019

2018

2009 - 2011

“Progressive pulmonary fibrosis is a life-threatening disease with a higher mortality rate than many cancer types. With the ERC OMEGA Grant, I hope to uncover the earliest immune drivers of pulmonary fibrosis, turning cutting-edge patient cohorts, state-of-the-art omics, and monocyte biology into new targets for timely therapies that could stop this deadly disease.”

Progressive pulmonary fibrosis is a life-threatening disease with a higher mortality rate than many cancer types.

2024 - Gilead Foundation Award. Frankfurt, Germany.
2023 - LMU Excellence Award. Junior Research Funds. Excellent cluster LMU, Munich, Germany.
2020 - Dr. Hildegard und Heinrich Fuchs Prize for the promotion of young medical professionals. Best Dissertation of the year 2020. Medical Faculty, LMU, Munich, Germany.
2020 - Deutscher Dissertationspreis Pneumologie - DGP der Deutschen Lungenstiftung e. V. Best Dissertation in Experimental Pneumology, Leipzig, Germany.

Gold Star Awards Luxury

Jia, J. ; Trassl, L. ; Kong, F. ; Deng, B. ; Liu, R. ; Sun, Z. ; Lan, X. ; Yildirim, A.Ö. ; Stathopoulos, G.T. ; Fernandez, I.E. ; Schamberger, A.C.

Improved survival of patients with stage III small-cell lung cancer with primary resection: A SEER-based analysis.

Mayr, C. ; Sengupta, A. ; Asgharpour, S. ; Ansari, M. ; Pestoni, J. ; Ogar, P. ; Angelidis, I. ; Liontos, A. ; Rodriguez-Castillo, J.A. ; Lang, N.J. ; Strunz, M. ; Porras-Gonzalez, D.L. ; Gerckens, M. ; De Sadeleer, L.J. ; Oehrle, B. ; Viteri-Alvarez, V. ; Fernandez, I.E. ; Tallquist, M. ; Irmler, M. ; Beckers, J. ; Eickelberg, O. ; Stoleriu, M.G. ; Behr, J. ; Kneidinger, N. ; Wuyts, W.A. ; Wasnick, R. ; Yildirim, A.Ö. ; Ahlbrecht, K. ; Morty, R.E. ; Samakovlis, C. ; Theis, F.J. ; Burgstaller, G. ; Schiller, H. B.

Sfrp1 inhibits lung fibroblast invasion during transition to injury induced myofibroblasts.

Wang, X. ; Zhang, H. ; Wang, Y. ; Bramasole, L. ; Guo, K. ; Mourtada, F. ; Meul, T. ; Hu, Q. ; Viteri-Alvarez, V. ; Kammerl, I.E. ; Königshoff, M. ; Lehmann, M. ; Magg, T. ; Hauck, F. ; Fernandez, I.E. ; Meiners, S.

DNA sensing via the cGAS/STING pathway activates the immunoproteasome and adaptive T-cell immunity.

Alessandrini, F. ; de Jong, R.J. ; Wimmer, M. ; Maier, A.-M. ; Fernandez, I.E. ; Hils, M. ; Buters, J.T.M. ; Biedermann, T. ; Zissler, U.M. ; Hoffmann, C. ; Esser-von Bieren, J. ; Schmidt-Weber, C.B. ; Ohnmacht, C.

Lung epithelial CYP1 activity regulates aryl hydrocarbon receptor dependent allergic airway inflammation.

Preisendörfer, S. ; Ishikawa, Y. ; Hennen, E. ; Winklmeier, S. ; Schupp, J.C. ; Knüppel, L. ; Fernandez, I.E. ; Binzenhöfer, L. ; Flatley, A. ; Juan-Guardela, B.M. ; Ruppert, C. ; Guenther, A. ; Frankenberger, M. ; Hatz, R.A. ; Kneidinger, N. ; Behr, J. ; Feederle, R. ; Schepers, A. ; Hilgendorff, A. ; Kaminski, N. ; Meinl, E. ; Bächinger, H.P. ; Eickelberg, O. ; Staab-Weijnitz, C.A.

FK506-binding protein 11 is a novel plasma cell-specific antibody folding catalyst with increased expression in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Fernandez, I.E. ; Kass, D.J.

Do circulating monocytes promote and predict IPF progression?

Greiffo, F.R. ; Viteri-Alvarez, V. ; Frankenberger, M. ; Dietel, D. ; Ortega-Gomez, A. ; Lee, J.S. ; Hilgendorff, A. ; Behr, J. ; Soehnlein, O. ; Eickelberg, O. ; Fernandez, I.E.

CX3CR1-fractalkine axis drives kinetic changes of monocytes in fibrotic interstitial lung diseases.

Welk, V. ; Meul, T. ; Lukas, C. ; Kammerl, I.E. ; Mulay, S.R. ; Schamberger, A.C. ; Semren, N. ; Fernandez, I.E. ; Anders, H.J. ; Günther, A. ; Behr, J. ; Eickelberg, O. ; Korfei, M. ; Meiners, S.

Proteasome activator PA200 regulates myofibroblast differentiation.

Transcript: Dr. Isis Fernandez about the ERC Starting Grant for OMEGA

Dr. Isis Fernandez about the ERC Starting Grant for OMEGA
Interview for Helmholtz Association Newsroom ERC Grants 2024
OMEGA: Discovering Early Drivers of Progressive Pulmonary Fibrosis is Key to Identifying a Cure
Progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a life-threatening disease with a high mortality rate and low quality of life. Our current understanding of the mechanisms underlying PF is limited to advanced stages, when interventions are less effective because of the irreversible lung scarring.
With the project OMEGA, Dr. Isis Fernandez will explore the early mechanisms driving PF to better understand its etiology and develop timely therapies that could stop the disease in its tracks. OMEGA focuses on circulating monocytes, which are linked to PF progression from the insipient state to end-stage disease, and by using interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA), the earliest detectable signs, to discover targets for early treatment of PF.