Medical School: Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Universität, Aachen, Germany

Internship: Department of Pathology, University of Ulm, Germany

Residency, Internal Medicine: Department of Medicine, Technische Universität Munich, Germany

Post-Doc: Center for Experimental Therapeutics and Reperfusion Injury, Brigham and Women`s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA with Prof. Sean Colgan

Residency, Anesthesiology: Department of Anesthesiology, University Tübingen, Germany

Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Fellowship: Division of Cardiothoracic Anesthesia, Department of Anesthesia, Duke University

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Cardiac surgery requiring cardiopulmonary bypass perfusion elicits powerful inflammatory and tissue injurious responses. As a consequence, distant organ damage - such as acute kidney injury – occurs, and is the principal cause of the considerable morbidity and mortality associated with these procedures.  My work has shown that mast cell activation may be an important early step in the escalation of inflammatory responses during cardiac surgery and I am therefore aiming to further define the role mast cells in this context. Here my efforts extend from basic mechanistic studies of mechanisms of mast cell activation, to work in animal models of ischemia/reperfusion injury and cardiopulmonary bypass and finally to clinical studies that evaluate the relevance of mast cell activation in patients. This work is currently supported by a Grant from the American Heart Association and from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

 

List of Publications:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/collections/bibliography/47358980/