Overview experimental research

The research groups of the Laboratory for Molecular Cardiology and Angiology share a common aim: to understand cardiovascular disease at the molecular level and translate that understanding into more precise diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Over recent years, our groups have identified a range of previously uncharacterised genes and molecular targets implicated in the development of cardiomyopathy and heart failure, in both experimental models and patient cohorts. Alongside structural heart disease, we investigate inflammatory processes in the cardiovascular system - relevant to conditions including pulmonary hypertension and inherited or acquired vascular disorders. These findings inform translational programmes centred on novel pharmacological agents and nucleic acid-based therapies, including viral vector-mediated gene transfer. A complementary biomarker programme - covering circulating peptides, lipids, microRNAs, and microvesicles - is under evaluation in patients with valvular heart disease and heart failure, with the goal of improving prognostic precision and enabling individualised clinical decision-making.

In the field of angiology, the research group Chronic Inflammation in Vascular Disease extends this translational framework to peripheral vascular disease. Through high-dimensional single-cell immunophenotyping, multi-omics approaches, and machine learning-assisted data analysis, this group investigates immune mechanisms in peripheral artery disease, aortic aneurysm, and rare cerebrovascular inflammatory disorders.

University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein
Molecular Cardiology
Dept. of Internal Medicine III
Quincke Forschungszentrum
Rosalind-Franklin-Straße 9, Haus 551 / U18
24105 Kiel
Germany