Research

Max Gassmann is a trained Swiss veterinarian who is specialized in animal and human physiology. He is well known for his work on hypoxia and erythropoietin (Epo). Since over a decade he is full professor of Veterinary Physiology and director of the corresponding institute, as well as chairman of the Zurich Center of Integrative Human Physiology (ZIHP), both institutions being located at the University of Zurich.

As early as 1992 he became interested in the physiological responses to oxygen deprivation, with a special focus on the impact of Epo and its receptor. He showed that Epo’s action is not restricted to erythropoiesis but has a widespread influence on different cellular responses to hypoxia. As such, he demonstrated that Epo protects the retina from light-induced degeneration.

His scientific work starts at the molecular and cellular level and leads to patients and adapted Andean highlanders. These integrative and translational efforts have provided new insights in the adaptive mechanisms that allow coping with acute and chronic hypoxia.