Profiles in Liver Transplantation
Prof. Dr. med. Verena Keitel-Anselmino
doctorProf. Dr. Verena Keitel-Anselmino has been director of the University Clinic for Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases at Magdeburg University Hospital (Otto von Guericke University) since 1 September 2021, where she also leads the treatment of liver and bile duct disease. Before her appointment to Magdeburg, she was a senior physician at the Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, where she completed her habilitation and was appointed W2 professor of internal medicine in 2015. Her research focuses on bile acid signaling and translational research into cholestatic liver disease.
Dr. Ursula Ehmer
doctorDr. Ursula Ehmer is a senior physician and research group leader at the Department of Internal Medicine II, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, where she has directed the liver transplantation program since 2017. She studied medicine at Hannover Medical School (1997-2004) and earned her doctorate summa cum laude on hepatic glucuronidation variability and UDP-glucuronosyltransferase polymorphisms, as well as a PhD in Molecular Medicine from the Hannover Biomedical Research School on the regulation of genetic variation. Following clinical training in gastroenterology and hepatology, she conducted postdoctoral research at Stanford University from 2009 to 2012 and completed her habilitation in internal medicine in 2018. Her research focuses on hepatocyte genetics, drug-metabolizing enzymes, cell proliferation control via the Hippo signaling pathway, and the genomics of liver cancer, and she has published extensively on UDP-glucuronosyltransferase regulation, mechanisms of liver disease, and translational cancer research. Her honors include the Ernest and Emilia Gallo Fellowship and a postdoctoral fellowship from the Mildred Scheel Foundation.
Prof. Dr. Robert Thimme
doctorProf. Dr. Robert Thimme is Medical Director of the Department of Internal Medicine II (Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Endocrinology, and Infectious Diseases) at University Hospital Freiburg. Career: Thimme completed his doctorate summa cum laude in virology at the University of Freiburg in 1994. From 1998 to 2001 he conducted postdoctoral research at the Scripps Research Institute in California. In 2005 he received a junior professorship for hepatitis virus infections, and in 2009 a Heisenberg professorship (W2/W3) in hepatology. He has served as Medical Director of Internal Medicine II since 2013. Research: Thimme's research focuses on immune responses in hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus infections as well as hepatocellular carcinoma. He coordinates the HEP-CAR consortium and co-chairs the collaborative research center SFB/TRR 179. He also directs the Berta Ottenstein Program for advancing clinical scientists.
Prof. Dr. med. Daniel Candinas
doctorProf. Dr. Dr. h.c. Daniel Candinas has been director of the University Clinic for Visceral Surgery and Medicine at Inselspital Bern since 2011, where he heads the transplantation center and the Bern Liver Center; from 2016 to 2021 he also served as vice-rector for research at the University of Bern. He studied medicine at the University of Zurich (1981-1987) and earned his doctorate in 1991 with a thesis on quality control in elective surgery; he obtained his specialist certification in general surgery in 1994 and completed his habilitation in general and transplant surgery in Zurich in 1997. His clinical training included a fellowship in the liver unit at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (1993-1994) and a fellowship and instructor position at Harvard Medical School (1994-1996), before he took on senior roles in Zurich and Birmingham. His research focuses on transplantation immunology, hepatic surgery, and cellular mechanisms of organ rejection, including the role of sex mismatch as a risk factor for chronic rejection of liver allografts and hypoxia-inducible signaling pathways.
Prof. Dr. Herbert Tilg
doctorProf. Dr. Herbert Tilg has been clinic director of the University Clinic for Internal Medicine I (Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Endocrinology and Metabolism) at the Medical University of Innsbruck since 2012. He studied medicine at the University of Innsbruck (1980-1986), became a board-certified internist in 1992, and gained additional qualifications in gastroenterology/hepatology (1996), oncology (1997), and intensive care medicine (2001). Research fellowships took him to Tufts University under Charles Dinarello (1991-1993) and to the Université Leuven (1997); from 1994 to 2001 he was lead senior physician at Innsbruck University Hospital's Department of Internal Medicine, and from 2002 he headed internal medicine at Landeskrankenhaus Hall. His research focuses on chronic inflammatory processes and inflammatory mediators (cytokines) in gastroenterology and hepatology, particularly fatty liver disease and inflammatory bowel disease; he has served as associate editor of the journal GUT since 2009. His honors include the Friedrich Wewalka Prize (1992), the Falk Prize (2006), and the Tyrolean State Prize for Science (2021); he was elected to Academia Europaea in 2022 and named a Highly Cited Researcher in 2023.
Dr. med. Herbert Spelter
doctorDr. Herbert Spelter is a specialist in general and visceral surgery with an additional qualification in advanced visceral surgery and serves as senior consultant physician in the Department of General, Visceral and Oncological Surgery at Helios University Hospital Wuppertal, Barmen campus. He is also a member of the hospital's liver center team, contributing to the surgical care of liver disease, including liver transplantation.
Prof. Dr. med. Florian Gebauer
doctorProf. Dr. Florian Gebauer is a specialist in general and visceral surgery with an additional qualification in advanced visceral surgery, and has been director of the Department of General, Visceral and Oncological Surgery and head of the Surgical Center at Helios University Hospital Wuppertal since December 2022; he also holds a chair for Surgery II at the University of Witten/Herdecke. He obtained his medical license in Hamburg in 2008 and began his surgical training at University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf under Prof. Jakob R. Izbicki; from 2017 to 2022 he was senior physician and head of clinical research, as well as deputy head of the pancreatic center, at Cologne University Hospital. His habilitation (2016) examined the functional and prognostic significance of cell adhesion molecules in pancreatic cancer progression. He leads research groups on pancreatic tumor progression and oligometastatic disease and serves as principal investigator of the HOLIPANC clinical trial on neoadjuvant chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer with liver metastases. His clinical focus is on complex tumor surgery, particularly of the pancreas and esophagus, and minimally invasive techniques; he is also involved in the hospital's liver center, contributing surgical care for liver disease.
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Tom Lüdde
doctorProf. Dr. med. Dr. phil. Tom Lüdde has been Director of the Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Infectious Diseases at University Hospital Düsseldorf (UKD) since August 1, 2020, succeeding Prof. Dr. Dieter Häussinger. Career: Lüdde studied medicine from 1994 to 2001 at Hannover Medical School (MHH) and completed his doctorate with top honors in 2002 on liver regeneration (MHH doctoral prize). After a research stay at the University of North Carolina (2000) and a second doctorate (Dr. phil., summa cum laude, 2004), he was a resident in Hannover from 2002 to 2004, completed a postdoc at EMBL and the University of Cologne from 2005 to 2007, and was a resident at University Hospital Aachen from 2007 to 2010. He completed his habilitation in 2009 (RWTH Aachen habilitation prize) and became a tenured W3 professor in Aachen in 2014. Research: Lüdde's research focuses on personalized treatment of gastrointestinal tumors using novel biomarkers and artificial intelligence, as well as the effects of obesity and malnutrition on liver disease. He has received the Ernst Jung Career Award and the Thannhauser Prize.
Prof. Dr. med. Johann Pratschke
doctorProf. Dr. med. Johann Pratschke is Director of the Department of Surgery at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Virchow-Klinikum (CVK), where he leads one of Germany's largest liver transplantation programs. His clinical focus includes liver, kidney and multi-organ transplantation.
Prof. Dr. Armin Wiegering
doctorProf. Dr. Armin Wiegering is Director of the Department of General, Visceral, Transplant and Thoracic Surgery at University Hospital Frankfurt. His clinical focus includes liver transplantation and complex hepatobiliary surgery for benign and malignant liver disease.