Prof. Dr. Thekla Cordes

since 2022
University of Braunschweig, Germany
Braunschweig Integrated Centre of Systems Biology (BRICS)
Professor for Cellular Metabolism

2021 – 2022
SALK Institute for Biological Studies (SALK), USA
Visiting Scientist

2019 – 2022
University of California, San Diego (UCSD), USA
Department for Bioengineering
Assistant Project Scientist

2014 – 2019
University of California, San Diego (UCSD), USA
Department for Bioengineering
Postdoctoral Fellow

2014 – 2014
Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (BRICS), Luxembourg
Research Assistant

2010 – 2010
Institute for Systems Biology (ISB), Seattle, USA
Visiting Scientist

2010 – 2014
Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (BRICS), Luxembourg
Junior Researcher (Ph.D. Candidate)
Ph.D. in Biology

2009 – 2010
Novartis Biologics, Switzerland
Department for Cell and Process Development
Staff Bioprocess Engineer

2004 - 2009
University of Braunschweig, Germany
Diploma in Biotechnology

Google Scholar

2022

• Cordes, Thekla, Ramya S Kuna, Grace H McGregor, Sanika V Khare, Jivani Gengatharan, Thangaselvam Muthusamy, and Christian M Metallo.  “1-deoxysphingolipid synthesis compromises anchorage-independent growth and plasma membrane endocytosis in cancer cells”. In: Journal of Lipid Research (Sept. 2022), p. 100281. doi: 10.1016/j.jlr.2022.100281.

• He, Wei, Antonia Henne, Mario Lauterbach, Eike Geißmar, Fabian Nikolka, Celia Kho, Alexander Heinz, Catherine Dostert, Melanie Grusdat, Thekla Cordes, Janika Härm, Oliver Goldmann, Anouk Ewen, Charlène Verschueren, Julia Blay-Cadanet, Robert Geffers, Hendrikus Garritsen, Manfred Kneiling, Christian K. Holm, Christian M. Metallo, Eva Medina, Zeinab Abdullah, Eicke Latz, Dirk Brenner, and Karsten Hiller. “Mesaconate is synthesized from itaconate and exerts immunomodulatory effects in macrophages”. In: Nature Metabolism
  4.5 (May 2022), pp. 524–533. doi: 10.1038/s42255-022-00565-1.

• Kumar, Avi, Ramya S Kuna, Hector Galvez, Karl A Wessendorf-Rodriguez, Courtney R Green, Grace H McGregor, Thekla Cordes, Reuben J Shaw, Robert U Svensson, and Christian M Metallo. “Inter-organelle crosstalk supports acetyl-coenzyme A homeostasis and lipogenesis under metabolic stress”. In: bioRxiv (Sept. 2022). doi: 10.1101/2022.09.24.509326.

• Linares, Juan F., Tania Cid-Diaz, Angeles Duran, Marta Osrodek, Anxo Martinez-Ordoñez, Miguel Reina-Campos, Hui-Hsuan Kuo, Olivier Elemento, M. Laura Martin, Thekla Cordes, Timothy C. Thompson, Christian M. Metallo, Jorge Moscat, and Maria T. Diaz-Meco. “The lactate-NAD axis activates cancer-associated fibroblasts by downregulating p62”. In: Cell Reports 39.6 (May 2022), p. 110792. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110792.

• Yebra, Mayra, Shruti Bhargava, Avi Kumar, Adam M Burgoyne, Chih-Min Tang, Hyunho Yoon, Sudeep Banerjee, Joseph Aguilera, Thekla Cordes, Vipul Sheth, Sangkyu Noh, Rowan Ustoy, Sam Li, Sunil J Advani, Christopher L Corless, Michael C Heinrich, Razelle Kurzrock, Scott M Lippman, Paul T Fanta, Olivier Harismendy, Christian Metallo, and Jason K Sicklick. “Establishment of patient-derived succinate dehydrogenase–deficient gastrointestinal stromal tumor models for predicting therapeutic response”. In: Clinical Cancer Research 28.1 (2022), pp. 187–200.

2021

• Cordes, T and CM Metallo. “Itaconate Alters Succinate and Coenzyme A Metabolism via Inhibition of Mitochondrial Complex II and Methylmalonyl-CoA Mutase. Metabolites, 11, 117” (2021).
• Cordes, Thekla and Christian M Metallo. “Exploring the evolutionary roots and physiological function of itaconate”. In: Current Opinion in Biotechnology 68 (2021), pp. 144–150.
• Cordes, Thekla and Christian MM Metallo. “Itaconate alters succinate and coenzyme A metabolism via inhibition of mitochondrial complex II and methylmalonyl-CoA mutase”. In: Metabolites 11.2 (2021), p. 117.
• Kumar, Avi, Thekla Cordes, Anna E Thalacker-Mercer, Ana M Pajor, Anne N Murphy, and Christian M Metallo. “NaCT/SLC13A5 facilitates citrate import and metabolism under nutrient-limited conditions”. In: Cell reports 36.11 (2021), p. 109701.
• Parekh, Udit, Daniella McDonald, Amir Dailamy, Yan Wu, Thekla Cordes, Kun Zhang, Ann Tipps, Christian Metallo, and Prashant Mali. “Charting oncogenicity of genes and variants across lineages via multiplexed screens in teratomas”. In: Iscience 24.10 (2021), p. 103149.

2020

• Cordes, Thekla, Alfredo Lucas, Ajit S Divakaruni, Anne N Murphy, Pedro Cabrales, and Christian M Metallo. “Itaconate modulates tricarboxylic acid and redox metabolism to mitigate reperfusion injury”. In: Molecular metabolism 32 (2020), pp. 122–135.
• Cordes, Thekla and Christian M Metallo. “Statins limit coenzyme Q synthesis and metabolically synergize with MEK inhibition in pancreatic tumors”. In: Cancer Research 80.2 (2020), pp. 151–152.
• Henke, Christine, Kathrin Töllner, R Maarten van Dijk, Nina Miljanovic, Thekla Cordes, Friederike Twele, Sonja Bröer, Vanessa Ziesak, Marco Rohde, S Hauck, Charlotte Vogel, Lisa Welzel, Tina Schumann, D Willmes, Anica Kurzbach, N El-Agroudy, Stefan R Bornstein, S Schneider, Jens Jordan, Heidrun Potschka, Christian M Metallo, Rüdiger Köhling, Andreas L Birkenfeld, and Wolfgang Löscher. “Deletion of the Na+/citrate cotransporter SLC13A5 in mice reduces parahippocampal citrate levels and promotes an epileptic phenotype”. In: Neurobiology of Disease 143 (2020), p. 105018.
• Henke, Christine, Kathrin Töllner, R Maarten van Dijk, Nina Miljanovic, Thekla Cordes, Friederike Twele, Sonja Bröer, Vanessa Ziesak, Marco Rohde, Stefanie M Hauck, Charlotte Vogel, Lisa Welzel, Tina Schumann, Diana M Willmes, Anica Kurzbach, Nermeen N El-Agroudy, Stefan R Bornstein, Susanne A Schneider, Jens Jordan, Heidrun Potschka, Christian M Metallo, Rüdiger Köhling, Andreas L Birkenfeld, and Wolfgang Löscher. “Disruption of the sodium-dependent citrate transporter SLC13A5 in mice causes alterations in brain citrate levels and neuronal network excitability in the hippocampus”. In: Neurobiology of disease 143 (2020), p. 105018.
• Kudo, Yotaro, Masayuki Sugimoto, Esperanza Arias, Hiroaki Kasashima, Thekla Cordes, Juan F Linares, Angeles Duran, Yuki Nakanishi, Naoko Nakanishi, Antoine L’Hermitte, Alex Campos, Nadia Senni, Tarmo Rooslid, Lewis R Roberts, Ana Maria Cuervo, Christian M Metallo, Michael Karin, Maria T Diaz-Meco, and Jorge Moscat. “PKC/ loss induces autophagy, oxidative phosphorylation, and NRF2 to promote liver cancer progression”. In: Cancer Cell 38.2 (2020), 247–262. e11.
• Muthusamy, Thangaselvam, Thekla Cordes, Michal K Handzlik, Le You, Esther W Lim, Jivani Gengatharan, Antonio FM Pinto, Mehmet G Badur, Matthew J Kolar, Martina Wallace, Alan Saghatelian, and Christian M Metallo. “Serine restriction alters sphingolipid diversity to constrain tumour growth”. In: Nature 586.7831 (2020), pp. 790–795.

2019

• Cordes, Thekla and Christian M Metallo. “Quantifying intermediary metabolism and lipogenesis in cultured mammalian cells using stable isotope tracing and mass spectrometry”. In: High-Throughput Metabolomics (2019), pp. 219–241.
• Reina-Campos, Miguel, Juan F Linares, Angeles Duran, Thekla Cordes, Antoine L’Hermitte, Mehmet G Badur, Munveer S Bhangoo, Phataraporn K Thorson, Alicia Richards, Tarmo Rooslid, Dolores C Garcia-Olmo, Syongh Y Nam-Cha, Antonio S Salinas-Sanchez, Ken Eng, Himisha Beltran, David A Scott, Christian M Metallo, Jorge Moscat, and Maria T Diaz-Meco. “Increased serine and one-carbon pathway metabolism by PKC/ deficiency promotes neuroendocrine prostate cancer”. In: Cancer Cell 35.3 (2019), 385–400. e9.

2018

• Badur, Mehmet G, Thangaselvam Muthusamy, Seth J Parker, Shenghong Ma, Samuel K McBrayer, Thekla Cordes, Jose H Magana, Kun-Liang Guan, and Christian M Metallo. “Oncogenic R132 IDH1 mutations limit NADPH for de novo lipogenesis through (D) 2-hydroxyglutarate production in fibrosarcoma cells”. In: Cell reports 25.4 (2018), 1018–1026. e4.
• Sessions, Ayla O, Peter Min, Thekla Cordes, Barry J Weickert, Ajit S Divakaruni, Anne N Murphy, Christian M Metallo, and Adam J Engler. “Preserved cardiac function by vinculin enhances glucose oxidation and extends health-and life-span”. In: APL bioengineering 2.3 (2018), p. 036101.

2017

• Divakaruni, Ajit S, Martina Wallace, Caodu Buren, Kelly Martyniuk, Alexander Y Andreyev, Edward Li, Jerel A Fields, Thekla Cordes, Ian J Reynolds, Brenda L Bloodgood, Lynn A Raymond, Christian M Metallo, and Anne N Murphy. “Inhibition of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier protects from excitotoxic neuronal death”. In: Journal of Cell Biology 216.4 (2017), pp. 1091–1105.
• Linares, Juan F, Thekla Cordes, Angeles Duran, Miguel Reina-Campos, Tania Valencia, Christopher S Ahn, Elias A Castilla, Jorge Moscat, Christian M Metallo, and Maria T Diaz-Meco. “ATF4-induced metabolic reprograming is a synthetic vulnerability of the p62-deficient tumor stroma”. In: Cell metabolism 26.6 (2017), 817–829. e6.
• Sessions, Ayla, Peter Min, Thekla Cordes, Christian Metallo, and Adam Engler. “Vinculin Mediated Increase in Cardiac Function Confers Systemic Metabolic Efficiency and Increases in Healthspan and Lifespan”. In: Circulation Research 121.suppl1 (2017), A127–A127.

2016

• Cordes, Thekla and Christian M Metallo. “Tracing insights into human metabolism using chemical engineering approaches”. In: Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering 14 (2016), pp. 72–81.
• Cordes, Thekla, Martina Wallace, Alessandro Michelucci, Ajit S Divakaruni, Sean C Sapcariu, Carole Sousa, Haruhiko Koseki, Pedro Cabrales, Anne N Murphy, Karsten Hiller, and Christian M Metallo. “Immunoresponsive gene 1 and itaconate inhibit succinate dehydrogenase to modulate intracellular succinate levels”. In: Journal of Biological Chemistry 291.27 (2016), pp. 14274–14284.
• Hiller, Karsten, Thekla Cordes, and Alessandro Michelucci. “Biotechnological production of itaconic acid”, (2016).
• Weindl, Daniel, Thekla Cordes, Nadia Battello, Sean C Sapcariu, Xiangyi Dong, Andre Wegner, and Karsten Hiller. “Bridging the gap between non-targeted stable isotope labeling and metabolic flux analysis”. In: Cancer metabolism 4.1 (2016), pp. 1–14.

2015

• Cordes, Thekla, Alessandro Michelucci, and Karsten Hiller. “Itaconic acid: the surprising role of an industrial compound as a mammalian antimicrobial metabolite”. In: Annual Review of Nutrition 35 (2015), pp. 451–473.
• Hiller, Karsten, Alessandro Michelucci, Thekla Cordes, Andre Wegner, Jenny Ghelfi, and Rudi Balling. “Method to predict the presence of inflammation or itaconic acid, irg1 and/or protein irg1 in a subject and pharmaceutical composition for treating or preventing inflammation”, US20150086986A1 (2015).

2014

• Cordes, Thekla. “Stable Isotope-Assisted Metabolomics to Profile Mammalian Metabolism of Inflammation and Cancer”. PhD thesis. University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg, 2014.
• Wilmes, Paul, Hugo Roume, Karsten Hiller, and Thekla Cordes. “Method and Kit For The Isolation Of Genomic DNA, RNA Proteins and Metabolites From A Single Biological Sample”. US20140212868A1. 2014.

2013

• Hiller, Karsten, André Wegner, Daniel Weindl, Thekla Cordes, Christian M Metallo, Joanne K Kelleher, and Gregory Stephanopoulos. “NTFD—a stand-alone application for the non-targeted detection of stable isotope-labeled compounds in GC/MS data”. In: Bioinformatics 29.9 (2013), pp. 1226–1228.
• Michelucci, Alessandro, Thekla Cordes, Jenny Ghelfi, Arnaud Pailot, Norbert Reiling, Oliver Goldmann, Tina Binz, André Wegner, Aravind Tallam, Antonio Rausell, Manuel Buttini, Carole L Linster, Eva Medina, Rudi Balling, and Karsten Hiller. “Immune-responsive gene 1 protein links metabolism to immunity by catalyzing itaconic acid production”. In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110.19 (2013), pp. 7820–7825.
• Roume, Hugo, Emilie El Muller, Thekla Cordes, Jenny Renaut, Karsten Hiller, and Paul Wilmes. “A biomolecular isolation framework for eco-systems biology”. In: The ISME journal 7.1 (2013), pp. 110–121.
• Sieck, Jochen B, Thekla Cordes, Wolfgang E Budach, Martin H Rhiel, Zoltan Suemeghy, Christian Leist, Thomas K Villiger, Massimo Morbidelli, and Miroslav Soos. “Development of a scale-down model of hydrodynamic stress to study the performance of an industrial CHO cell line under simulated production scale bioreactor conditions”. In: Journal of biotechnology 164.1 (2013), pp. 41–49.

2012

• Cordes, Thekla, Andre Wegner, Daniel Weindl, and Karsten Hiller. NTFD Documentation. 2012.
• Wegner, Andre, Thekla Cordes, Alessandro Michelucci, and Karsten Hiller. “The Application of Stable Isotope Assisted Metabolomics in Biomedicine”. In: Current Biotechnology 1.1 (2012), pp. 88–97.

2011

• Roume, Hugo, Emilie Muller, Thekla Cordes, Karsten Hiller, and Paul Wilmes. “Isolation of biomolecules from a single sample: the first step towards integrated omic analyses”. In: 1st International Systems Biomedicine Symposium. 2011.

2010

• Sieck, JB, T Cordes, MH Rhiel, and C Leist. “Effect of Fluid Dynamic Stress on Culture Performance in an Industrial CHO mAb Production Process”. In: Chemie Ingenieur Technik 82.9 (2010), pp. 1507–1507.

• NIH/NCI Research Specialist Award, 2021 - 2022
• Postdoctoral Fellowship, German Research Foundation (DFG), 2016 - 2018
• FNR (Fonds National de la Recherche Luxembourg) Award for Outstanding Scientific Publication, 2014
• National Science Slam Winner, Luxembourg, 2013
• Award for Excellent work performed during academic studies, University of Braunschweig, Germany, 2007 - 2009