Christian Weber (doctor)

Christian Weber (born October 15, 1967 in Munich ) is a specialist in internal medicine with a focus on cardiology and lecturer at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich .

Life

Weber studied human medicine at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich (LMU) from 1986 to 1993, where he received his doctorate in medicine (Dr. med.) In 1994. In 1995 and 1996 Weber was a postdoctoral fellow and research fellow at the Center for Blood Research and Department of Pathology at Harvard Medical School , Boston, USA. In 1999 he completed his habilitation on experimental internal medicine at the LMU Munich.

In 2005 he was appointed university professor (W3) and director of the Institute for Cardiovascular Molecular Biology / Institute for Molecular Cardiovascular Research (IMCAR) & Prevention Outpatient Department at the University Hospital of RWTH Aachen University. In 2006 he was appointed professor at the Department of Biochemistry / Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht (CARIM) at Maastricht University . In 2010 Weber was appointed university professor for vascular medicine and director of the Institute for Prophylaxis & Epidemiology of Circulatory Diseases (IPEK) at the University of Munich and LMU Hospital, as well as being a board member of the August Lenz Foundation. In 2019 Christian Weber was accepted as a member of the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina in the Internal Medicine and Dermatology Section .

Act

Weber contributed to a better understanding of the chronic inflammatory pathogenesis of atherosclerosis as a basis for new forms of therapy. On the basis of his work and initiative as a founding spokesman, the German Research Foundation (DFG) set up a Collaborative Research Center (SFB) on the topic of atherosclerosis and its therapeutic target structures at the end of 2014.

Since the early 1990s, Weber has followed the role of inflammation in the lipid-driven development of atherosclerosis. Building on his results as a postdoctoral fellow at Timothy A. Springer's Institute at Harvard University , he worked on the mechanistic elucidation of the role of chemokines and microRNAs in atherosclerosis. His results contribute to vascular vascular biology from a biomedical point of view. He achieved the following results with his employees:

• Platelets are an important source of chemokines, which they can deposit on the activated endothelium , and thus promote the atherogenic recruitment of monocytes and the formation of atherosclerotic plaques (Circulation 2001; Nature Med 2003).

• Junctional adhesion molecule A (JAM-A) is an endothelial ligand for the integrin LFA-1 in transendothelial leukocyte migration and directs the atherogenic monocyte influx when it is redistributed to predilection sites with flow disorders (Nature Immunol 2002; Circulation 2014).

• The chemokine receptors CXCR2 and CXCR4 are signal receptors for MIF (macrophage migration inhibitory factor) and mediate inflammatory and atherogenic leukocyte recruitment (Nature Med 2007). A chemokine-like MIF peptide motif can be used therapeutically (PNAS 2008).

• The structural analysis and systematic mapping of heteromeric chemokine interactions, e.g. B. CCL5 with CXCL4 or CCL17, which cause differential functional synergy or inhibition, allowed the design of cyclic peptides that prevent or simulate heteromers and thus inhibit atherosclerosis and inflammation without side effects (Nature Med 2009; Sci Transl Med).

• Atheroprotective functions of the chemokine receptor CXCR4 and the ligand CXCL12 can be explained by controlling the homeostasis of pro-atherogenic neutrophils (Circ Res 2008) and triggered by apoptotic microparticles that transfer miRNA-126-3p into endothelial cells, such as CXCL12 and induce angiogenic cell recruitment via CXCR4 (Science Signal 2009).
• The complementary strand miR-126-5p mediates dual atheroprotection and promotes endothelial cell proliferation by suppressing DLK1 at arterial sites with impaired flow, where their depletion is more susceptible to hyperlipidemic stress (Nature Med 2014). This relevant endothelial proliferative reserve can be restored by miR-126-5p mimetics.

• An alternative form of hematopoiesis has been identified in Duffy-negative individuals of African origin with atypical chemokine receptor 1 (ACKR1) gene polymorphism that prevents expression on erythroid cells. In the bone marrow , this lack of ACKR1 leads to phenotypically altered neutrophils, which promptly emigrate and cause neutropenia . Mechanistically, this explains ethnic differences in inflammatory diseases and atherosclerosis (Nat Immunol 2017).

So far, these and other important findings have led to over 320 original articles (110 as first or last author) and over 190 reviews and comments, which have been cited over 27,000 to 37,000 times and thus an h-index of 89/102 (per Scopus or . Google Scholar) and have a cumulative impact factor of over 4,400. Weber has summarized the current state of knowledge on the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and therapeutic options in highly cited review articles (e.g. Nature Rev Immunol 2008; Nature Med 2011). His innovative work is not only interesting heuristically, but also has high translational potential for vascular diagnostics and therapy, as can be seen from numerous patents and biotech collaborations.

From 2008 to 2010 he was spokesperson for the International Graduate School GRK 1508 together with Maastricht University. From 2010 to 2016 he acted as coordinator of a Leducq Transatlantic Network of Excellence together with Daniel Rader. He has been Editor-in-Chief of Thrombosis & Haemostasis since 2010 and Senior Associate Editor of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis & Vascular Biology since 2012 and Consulting Editor of Circulation Research since 2014. Since 2014 he has been the founding spokesman of the DFG's newly established Collaborative Research Center 1123 on the subject of atherosclerosis.

At the European level, Weber received the rare award of a second Advanced Investigator Grant (AdG) from the European Research Council (ERC): after the ERC AdG Atheroprotect in 2010, the ERC AdG PROVASC followed in 2016. Weber is listed by the publication-based health information portal ExpertScape as the world's leading expert on atherosclerosis.

honors and awards

• Young Master Award 2000 from the German Society for Internal Medicine
• Award 2002 from the Society for Microcirculation & Vascular Biology
• Science award for basic medical research 2003
• Arthur Weber Prize 2004, Ger. Ges. F. Cardiology - cardiovascular research
• Prize of the Hans & Gertie Fischer Foundation 2004
• Forßmann Prize 2005, Cardiology Foundation of the Ruhr University Bochum
• Hermann Rein Award 2005, Society for Microcirculation & Vascular Biology
• Prize in the university competition Patents Inventors, North Rhine-Westphalia 2005
• WH Hauss Prize 2008
• Paul Martini Prize 2008
• Outstanding Achievement Award 2008
• Galenus von Pergamon Prize 2009, International Association of Donors Prix Galien
• ATVB Special Recognition Award 2009
• VICI Prize of the NWO (Nederlandse Organizatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek)
• Alexander Schmidt Prize 2015

Web links

• Member entry of Christian Weber at the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Science Prize for Basic Medical Research 2003
2. ^ Arthur Weber Prize 2004
3. ^ WH Hauss Prize 2008
4. ^ Paul Martini Prize 2008
5. ↑ Outstanding Achievement Award 2008 ( Memento of the original from January 5, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
6. ^ Galenus von Pergamon Prize 2009
7. ↑ ATVB Special Recognition Award 2009
8. ↑ VICI Prize of the NWO 2010 ( Memento of the original from January 5, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
9. ↑ Alexander Schmidt Prize 2015