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Year of election: | 2009 |
Section: | Internal Medicine and Dermatology |
City: | Frankfurt/Main |
Country: | Germany |
Jürgen Schölmerich has provided significant contributions to the understanding of bile acid effects on liver cells, based on studies done in Freiburg as well as in San Diego (California).
Later on the focus of scientific activity moved to understanding the intestinal barrier and its role in inflammatory bowel disorders. Here in particular the role of the innate immune system and different cell populations of the mucosa for the barrier function have been clarified. Based on clinical observations severe acute pancreatitis was classified as prototype of a systemic inflammatory reaction syndrome (SIRS) and a disturbance of the intestinal barrier in patients with liver cirrhosis was described and found to be a relevant cause of infectious complications in this disorder.