Our Aims
Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death in Germany and worldwide.
In Germany, CHD has an overall incidence of 0.6% per year, indicating that approximately 500.000 patients per year present with newly diagnosed CHD each year. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least half of the deaths and disabilities resulting from CHD could be avoided by improved primary or secondary prevention.
Despite advances in diagnosis and therapy, the mortality rate of cardiovascular disease still remains on a high level. In addition, within an increasing aging society, presumably the number of cardiovascular disease will also increase. To stop this trend intensified basic research and improved prevention, diagnosis and therapeutic strategies are needed.
In view of increasingly complex demands of cardiovascular medicine, the aim of the Munich Heart Alliance is to effectively decrease cardiovascular disease mortality by an integrated approach that includes both prevention of the establishment of cardiovascular disease via primary preventive measures and therapeutic targeting of established cardiovascular disease with manifest vascular and myocardial damage.
Main research focus is set on vascular disease, heart failure, arrhythmia, prevention and imaging.
Vascular disease is mainly caused by hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) due to a thickening of the artery lining from fatty deposits or plaques. Important issues to be solved are the identification of alterations taking place within the vasculature that lead to atherosclerosis and atherothrombosis and the validation of targets that can be translated into novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.
Heart failure is the inability of the heart to pump blood through the organs and body with normal efficiency. It is a leading cause of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in Germany and may be due to failure of one or both ventricles. Knowledge of the mechanisms leading to heart failure will contribute to a better diagnosis of asymptomatic states and the development of novel drugs and treatment strategies.
An arrhythmia (also called dysrhythmia or irregular heart rhythm) is an irregular or abnormal heartbeat and leads in case of longer persistence to an improper blood flow. Hereditary and acquired arrhythmias represent a major public health problem and current therapies are inadequate. Novel mechanism-directed approaches have the potential to improve patient management.
The prevention of cardiovascular disease is an essential goal for the 21st century and requires knowledge of both risk factors and predisposition of cardiovascular disease. A better understanding of the mechanisms leading to cardiovascular disease helps to develop novel intervention strategies and to reduce the incidence and mortality rates of cardiovascular events.
Non-invasive imaging techniques are indispensable to early detect and diagnose cardiovascular diseases. An early detection and diagnosis is important for a therapeutic intervention well in advance before the heart is damaged irreversibly. Therefore, the development of novel risk assessment tools may permit an earlier and more targeted therapeutic treatment.
Our Structure
The steering committee assembles from principal investigators of the main Munich Heart Alliance (MHA) institutions and elects an executive board.
This board coordinates and manages the research networking activities and decides on general research objectives and the strategic direction of the MHA. The executive board also appoints a head of the MHA Center to direct operative aspects and a speaker, who represents the Munich Heart Alliance externally and is responsible for all joint activities within the German Center of Cardiovascular Research (GCCR).
The Munich Heart Alliance constitutes a unique cross-disciplinary cardiovascular research framework within the Munich area, characterized by outstanding expertise in leading academic institutions in a single city. It includes the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) with its two university hospitals (KUM), the Technische Universität München (TUM) with its Klinikum rechts der Isar (MRI) and the Deutsches Herzzentrum München (DHM), the Max-Planck-Institute of Biochemistry (MPI) and the Helmholtz Zentrum München (HMGU). The Munich Heart Alliance also maintains close ties to the associated cardiology centers in the neighbouring cities of Augsburg and Regensburg.
Contact
Management
Dr. Sandra Rauser
Tel.: +49 89 4400-54677
Fax: +49 89 4400-54676
E-mail: rauser@munich-heart-alliance.de
Assistance
Elif Alkan
Tel.: +49 89 4140-3264
Fax: +49 89 4140-3261
E-Mail: elif.alkan@tum.de
Our Investigators
Prof. Dr. med. Dr. rer. nat. Stefan Engelhardt
Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology (TUM)
Prof. Dr. med. Agnes Görlach
Department of Paediatric Cardiology and Congenital Heart Defects (DHM)
Prof. Dr. med. Christian Hagl
Herzchirurgische Klinik und Poliklinik (KUM)
Prof. Dr. med. Martin Halle
Department of Prevention and Sports Medicine (MRI)
Prof. Dr. med. Michael Joner
Department of Cardiology (DHM)
Prof. Dr. med. Stefan Kääb
Department of Cardiology (KUM)
Prof. Dr. med. Adnan Kastrati
Department of Cardiology (DHM)
Prof. Dr. med. Christian Kupatt
Department of Cardiology (MRI)
Prof. Dr. med. Karl-Ludwig Laugwitz
Department of Cardiology (MRI)
Prof. Dr. med. Esther Lutgens
Institute for Cardiovascular Prevention (KUM)
Prof. Dr. Matthias Mann
Max-Planck-Institut für Biochemie
Prof. Dr. med. Steffen Massberg
Department of Cardiology (KUM)
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Alessandra Moretti
Department of Cardiology (MRI)
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Vasilis Ntziachristos
Institute for Biological and Medical Imaging (HMGU)
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Annette Peters
Institute of Epidemiology II (HMGU)
Prof. Dr. med. Christian Schulz
Department of Cardiology (KUM)
Prof. Dr. med. Heribert Schunkert
Department of Cardiology (DHM)
PD Dr. med. Konstantin Stark
Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik I (KUM)
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Sabine Steffens
Institute for Cardiovascular Prevention (KUM)
Prof. Dr. Dr. Fabian Theis
Helmholtz Zentrum München Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt
Prof. Dr. med. Christian Weber
Institute for Cardiovascular Prevention (KUM)
DZHK Junior Research Groups
Prof. Dr. Lars Maegdefessel
Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery (MRI)
Prof. Dr. Alexander Bartelt
Institute for Cardiovascular Prevention (LMU)
Dr. rer. nat. Daniel Andergassen
Institut für Pharmakologie und Toxikologie der Technischen Universität München (TUM)
Members
Dr. rer. nat. Dorothee Atzler, Institute for Cardiovascular Prevention (KUM)
Prof. Dr. med. Fabian Bamberg, Department of Radiology (KUM)
Prof. Dr. med. Hans-Christoph Becker, Department of Radiology (KUM)
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Jürgen Bernhagen, Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research (KUM)
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Martin Biel, Department Pharmazie – Zentrum für Pharmaforschung (LMU)
Dr. rer. nat. Ralph Böttcher, Department of Molecular Medicine (MPI)
Dr. med. Robert Byrne, Department of Cardiology (DHM)
PD Dr. med. Sebastian Clauß, Department of Cardiology (KUM)
Prof. Dr. med. Andreas Dendorfer, Walter-Brendel-Centre of Experimental Medicine (KUM)
Prof. Dr. med. Hans-Henning Eckstein, Klinik für Gefäßchirurgie (MRI)
Prof. Dr. med. Peter Ewert, Department of Paediatric Cardiology and Congenital Heart Defects (DHM)
PD Dr. rer. nat. Stefanie Fenske, Department Pharmazie – Zentrum für Pharmaforschung (LMU)
Prof. Dr. med. Andreas Habenicht, Institute for Cardiovascular Prevention (KUM)
Prof. Dr. med. Jörg Hausleiter, Department of Cardiology (KUM)
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Stephan Herzig, Institute for Diabetes and Cancer (HMGU)
Prof. Dr. med. Ellen Hoffmann, Klinik für Kardiologie und Internistische Intensivmedizin (Klinikum Bogenhausen)
Prof. Dr. med. Martin Hrabé de Angelis, Institute of Experimental Genetics (HMGU)
PD Dr. med. Philipp von Hundelshausen, Institute for Cardiovascular Prevention (KUM)
PD Dr. med. Thorsten Kessler, Department of Cardiology (DHM)
Prof. Dr. med. Wolfgang Koenig, Department of Cardiology (DHM)
PD Dr. med. Markus Krane, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery (DHM)
Prof. Dr. med. Klaus A. Kuhn, Institute of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology (MRI)
Prof. Dr. med. Karl-Heinz Ladwig, Institute of Epidemiology II (HMGU)
Prof. Dr. med. Rüdiger Lange, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery (DHM)
Dr. med. Carsten Lennerz, Department of Cardiology (DHM)
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Michael Mederos y Schnitzler, Walther-Straub-Institut für Pharmakologie und Toxikologie (LMU)
Prof. Dr. Daphne Merkus, Walter-Brendel-Centre of Experimental Medicine (KUM)
Dr. rer. nat. Sarajo Mohanta, Institute for Cardiovascular Prevention (KUM)
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Stephan G. Nekolla, Department of Nuclear Medicine (MRI)
Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h.c. Bruno Reichart (KUM)
Prof. Dr. med. Martin Reincke, Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik IV (KUM)
Prof. Dr. med. Maximilian Reiser, Department of Radiology (KUM)
Prof. Dr. med. Hendrik Sager, Department of Cardiology (DHM)
Prof. Dr. med. Wolfgang von Scheidt, I. Medizinische Klinik (Klinikum Augsburg)
Prof. Dr. med. Georg Schmidt, Department of Cardiology (MRI)
Prof. Dr. med. Andreas Schober, Institute for Cardiovascular Prevention (KUM)
Dr. rer. nat. Johann Schredelseker, Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology (LMU)
Prof. Dr. med. Markus Schwaiger, Department of Nuclear Medicine (MRI)
Prof. Dr. med. Dirk Sibbing, Department of Cardiology (KUM)
Prof. Dr. med. Wolfgang Siess, Institute for Cardiovascular Prevention (KUM)
Dr. med. Daniel Sinnecker, I. Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik (MRI)
PD Dr. med. Moritz Sinner, Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik I (KUM)
Prof. Dr. med. Markus Sperandio, Biomedical Center Munich, Cardiovascular Physiology and Pathophysiology (LMU)
Prof. Dr. med. Gerhard Steinbeck, Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik I (KUM)
Prof. Dr. med. Oktay Tutarel, Department of Paediatric Cardiology and Congenital Heart Defects (DHM)
Prof. Dr. med. Christian Wahl-Schott, Biomedical Center Munich, Cardiovascular Physiology and Pathophysiology (LMU)
Prof. Dr. med. Reza Wakili, Department of Cardiology (KUM)
Dr. rer. nat. Melanie Waldenberger, Molecular Epidemiology (HMGU)
PD Dr. rer. nat. Andrea Welling, Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology (TUM)
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Dr. med. H.-Erich Wichmann, Institute of Epidemiology (HMGU)
PD Dr. med. Ute Wilbert-Lampen, Department of Cardiology (KUM)
Prof. Dr. med. vet. Eckhard Wolf, Gene Center of the University Munich (LMU)
Dr. rer. nat. Changjun Yin, Institute for Cardiovascular Prevention (KUM)
PD Dr. med. Cordula M. Wolf, Klinik für angeborene Herzfehler und Kinderkardiologie (DHM)
Dr. rer. nat. Maliheh Nazari-Jahantigh, Institut für Prophylaxe und Epidemiologie der Kreislaufkrankheiten (KUM)
Dr. rer. nat. Matthias Heinig, Institute of Computational Biology (HMGU)
Prof. Dr. Daniel Rückert, Lehrstuhl für KI in der Medizin TranslaTUM (MRI)
Dr. rer. nat. Johan Duchêne, Institut für Prophylaxe und Epidemiologie der Kreislaufkrankheiten (KUM)
Dr. rer. nat. Remco Megens, Institut für Prophylaxe und Epidemiologie der Kreislaufkrankheiten (KUM)