Research

Prevention and mechanisms of heart failure and its complications.

Cellular mechanisms in cardiac wound healing and repair post myocardial infarction with a special focus on T-lymphocytes, transcription factors, and complement.

Cardiac imaging and NMR-phosphorous spectroscopy on the heart, myocardial energetic deficiency.

Rare cardiovascular diseases.

Pathophysiology of coronary blood flow regulation by alpha-adrenergic mediators, angiotensin, leukotrienes, endothelin and neuropeptides.

Molecular and genetic basis of multimorbidity.

The brain in heart failure. Depression in patients with heart failure.

Career

• since 1999 Chair of Internal Medicine and Director of the Department I of Internal Medicine, University of Würzburg, Germany
• 1995-1998 Chairman of Cardiology at the Faculty of Clinical Medicine Mannheim of the University of Heidelberg and Director of the II. Department of Internal Medicine at the Hospital of Mannheim, medical vice director of the Hospital of Mannheim, Germany
• 1991-1994 Vice Director of the Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Würzburg, Germany
• 1987 Cardiologist
• 1981-1991 Resident in internal medicine and cardioloy, Assistant Professor (1986) and Associate Professor (1991)
• 1979-1980 Research fellow (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) at the Harvard University and Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, Boston, USA
• 1977-1979 Research fellow at the Physiological Institute, University of Düsseldorf
• 1975-1976 Military Service as Medical Officer (compulsory)
• 1975 Medical Doctor (M.D.) at the University of Mainz, Germany
• 1968-1974 Medical student in Mainz and Graz

Projects

• since 2011 Speaker of the National Competence Net Heart Failure
• since 2010 Speaker of the German Comprehensive Heart Failure Centre (CHFC) an Integrated Research and Treatment Centre of the BMBF
• since 2006 Vice-speaker of the SFB “688”, Cardiovascular Cell-Cell-Interactions and Imaging
• 1999-2005 Speaker of the Collaborative Research Program (Sonderforschungsbereich) SFB 355 “Pathophysiology of Heart Failure”

Functions

• 2011-2013 President of the German Cardiac Society
• 2009-2015 Board of the German Cardiac Society
• 2008-2012 Speaker of the Reviewboard Medicine and the Section Cardiology of the German Research Foundation (DFG)
• since 2008 Advisory Board of the Bavarian State Ministry for the Environment of Health and Public
• since 2006 Member of the Commission for the National Guideline “Heart Failure”
• since 2005 Member of the Scientific  Advisory Board of the German Medical Association
• 2005-2007 Member of the Board of the German Society of Internal Medicine
• 2004-2008 Speaker of the Reviewboard, Section Cardiology of the German Research Foundation (DFG)
• 2004-2008 Chairman of the German Society of Internal Medicine   
• 2004-2006 Dean of the Medical Faculty of the University of Würzburg, Germany

Honors and Memberships

• since 2002 Member of The German National Academy of Science, Leopoldina
• 2000 Franz Loogen Preis
• since 1992 Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology
• since 1992 Basic Science Council of the American Heart Association
• since 1988 Council of Basic Science of American Heart Association