The Departments of Internal Medicine III (Cardiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Director Prof. Dr. Derk Frank) and Internal Medicine V (Angiology, Director Prof. Dr. Oliver J. Müller) pursue a broad research programme with the overarching aim of advancing precision medicine in cardiovascular disease. The Department of Internal Medicine V was established as an independent unit at UKSH Campus Kiel in March 2024, reflecting the growing clinical and scientific significance of angiology within the Heart Centre.
Our research spans clinical investigation of complex coronary interventions, minimally invasive valve therapy, peripheral artery disease, and individualised management of arrhythmias, heart failure, and cardiomyopathies - through to translational and molecular research with a focus on gene and cell therapy approaches and the immunological characterisation of vascular disease. Clinical, translational, and basic science activities are closely integrated with the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK) (partner site North), within which we collaborate with the Department of Cardiac and Vascular Surgery and the Department of Congenital Heart Disease and Paediatric Cardiology.
Multi-omics approaches are applied to identify novel mechanisms underlying genetic predisposition to cardiovascular disease, with the goal of defining new diagnostic and therapeutic targets. Prof. Dr. Derk Frank leads translational research on reverse myocardial remodelling and cardiac mechanotransduction - including the ongoing DZHK project “Targeting mechanotransduction in cardiac hypertrophy and failure” and biomarker studies in structural heart disease. PD Dr. Martina Spehlmann investigates risk factors and biomarkers of heart failure; earlier work on intestinal dysbiosis in heart failure patients is complemented by current studies on parameters of right ventricular function. Through the W3 Professorship in Translational Cardiology and Angiology (Prof. Dr. Oliver J. Müller, since July 2022), the group develops and optimises tailored AAV vectors and gene-editing strategies for the treatment of cardiomyopathies and heart failure. Ongoing DZHK translational projects (2024-2026) encompass cross-species optimisation of vector-based gene editing in the heart, the development of targeted AAV vectors for efficient cardiovascular gene transfer, and gene therapy for cardiac hypertrophy; in addition, hydrogel-based delivery systems for gene vectors are being developed within the BlueBioPol consortium.
From March 2026, the W1 Professorship in Chronic Inflammation in Vascular Disease (Prof. Dr. Henry Nording) extends the research portfolio to encompass data-driven vascular immunobiology: AI-assisted high-dimensional immunophenotyping, structured biobank initiatives - including the Kiel Vascular Biology Biobank (KVB) and the IMPART-AA study - and clinical cohort studies such as the multicentre PROGRESS study on AI-based analysis of coronary collateral circulation and the SHIELD-HLHS study on the immunobiology of Fontan circulation, all aimed at translating immunological mechanisms in peripheral artery disease, aortic aneurysm, and congenital heart disease into patient-relevant diagnostics and therapeutic approaches.
All translational and basic science research activities are conducted in the Laboratory for Molecular Cardiology and Angiology at the Quincke Research Centre of Kiel University (CAU). The laboratory is equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure: an iPSC cardiomyocyte and AAV core laboratory, vector engineering platforms for the development and production of therapeutic AAV vectors and gene-editing tools, hydrogel-based delivery systems for gene vectors (BlueBioPol consortium), the CytoIntelligence Core Facility (CIC) for high-dimensional machine learning-assisted flow cytometry, and the Kiel Vascular Biology Biobank. An interdisciplinary team of clinician-scientists, natural scientists, doctoral researchers, and experienced technical staff drives the laboratory’s research activities.
Our clinical research unit, also part of the DZHK, is supported by an experienced team of study nurses coordinating multiple clinical trials (Phase I-IV), including DZHK studies, investigator-initiated trials (IITs), and industry-sponsored studies. In September 2025, the new Cardiac Intervention Centre (KIC) opened at Campus Kiel, bringing together the cardiac catheterisation laboratories of the Department of Internal Medicine III and the Department of Congenital Heart Disease and Paediatric Cardiology and consolidating the full spectrum of interventional cardiology - from coronary interventions and valve therapy to complex structural procedures - under state-of-the-art imaging conditions. Selected procedures are performed in collaboration with the Department of Cardiac Surgery (Director: Prof. Dr. Gregor Warnecke) and the Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery; experimental heart valve research is led by Prof. Dr. Georg Lutter (Chair of Experimental Cardiac Surgery and Heart Valve Replacement).
We offer doctoral programmes in medicine and - in collaboration with other departments and faculties (Biology, Pharmacy, Faculty of Engineering) - in the natural sciences. Please do not hesitate to contact us directly or through our departmental secretariat.