Axel Haverich (born March 9, 1953) is a German
cardiac surgeon
Cardiac surgery, or cardiovascular surgery, is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. It is often used to treat complications of ischemic heart disease (for example, with coronary artery bypass grafting); to cor ...
.
Biography
Born in
Lemgo
Lemgo (; nds, Lemge, Lemje) is a small university town in the Lippe district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
It is situated between the Teutoburg Forest and the Weser Uplands, 25 km east of Bielefeld and 70 km west of Hannover.
T ...
, Haverich completed his
Abitur
''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
at the
Barntrup Gymnasium in 1972. He studied medicine at the
Medizinische Hochschule Hannover (MHH) and graduated in 1978.
[Medizinische Hochschule Hannover: Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. A. Haverich (Biography, in German)]
/ref> One year later he received his M.D.
Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...
title (promotion). During his work as an assistant surgeon he spend time as a research assistant at the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of the Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
.[ In 1985 he became Senior Surgeon (Oberarzt) at the Clinic for Cardiac, Thoracic, and Vascular Surgery at the MHH. His ]habilitation
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...
was completed in 1987. From 1993 to 1996 he worked as the Director for heart and vascular surgery at the Kiel University
Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...
.[ In 1996 he returned to the MHH as medical director of Cardiac, Thoracic, Transplant and Vascular Surgery.][MHH: Cardiac, Thoracic, Transplant and Vascular Surgery]
/ref>
Work
Much of Haverich’s work is focused on tissue engineering
Tissue engineering is a biomedical engineering discipline that uses a combination of Cell (biology), cells, engineering, Materials science, materials methods, and suitable biochemistry, biochemical and physicochemical factors to restore, maintai ...
and development of implantable organs, specifically for the heart and vascular system. In 2006 his team reported on the transplantation of heart valve
A heart valve is a one-way valve that allows blood to flow in one direction through the chambers of the heart. Four valves are usually present in a mammalian heart and together they determine the pathway of blood flow through the heart. A heart v ...
s in two children (11 and 13 years old) done in 2002; the heart valves originated from donors, were decellularized, and then reseeded with autologous stem cells so that they would continue to grow. Haverich's aim is eventually to rebuild the heart by tissue engineering "from ourselves".
In 1996 Haverich founded the Leibniz Research Laboratories for Biotechnology and Artificial Organs (LEBAO) to develop bioengineered tissue for the heart.[ In 2006 Haverich founded a private company, Corlife, to produce decellularized heart halves.
]
Hypothesis on development of arteriosclerosis
In 2017 Haverich presented a new hypothesis about the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis
Arteriosclerosis is the thickening, hardening, and loss of elasticity of the walls of Artery, arteries. This process gradually restricts the blood flow to one's organs and tissues and can lead to severe health risks brought on by atherosclerosis ...
. While the potential role of infection and inflammation had been discussed for decades, Haverich noted that only specific arteries were subject to development of arteriosclerotic plaques. He postulated that the formation of plaques is not from inside the vessel, but the result of inflammation of the feeding vessels (vasa vasorum
Vasa vasorum are small blood vessels that comprise a vascular network supplying the walls of large blood vessels, such as elastic arteries (e.g., the aorta) and large veins (e.g., the venae cavae).
The name derives . Occasionally two different ...
) of arteries that becoming inflamed compromising the integrity of the arterial wall. He noted that arteries with thin walls not having vasa vasorum do not develop arteriosclerosis. He postulated that the damage by inflamed vasa vasorum leads to cell death within the wall and subsequent plaques formation. Vasa vasorum inflammation can be caused by viruses, bacteria, and fine dust among others. According to his view this concept conforms to observations that cardiac infarction
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tra ...
s are more common when influenza has occurred or fine particles have been inhaled.
Memberships and editorships
(selection)
* Senate of MHH, 1999–2003
* Senate of Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
The German Research Foundation (german: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft ; DFG ) is a German research funding organization, which functions as a self-governing institution for the promotion of science and research in the Federal Republic of Germ ...
, 2001–2007
* Leopoldina Leopoldina may refer to:
* Colônia Leopoldina, a Brazilian municipality in the state of Alagoa
* Leopoldina, Minas Gerais, a Brazilian municipality in the state of Minas Gerais
* Maria Leopoldina of Austria (1797-1826), consort of emperor Pedro I ...
, since 2003[Membership Leopoldina]
/ref>
* President of the German Society of Surgery
The German Society of Surgery (german: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Chirurgie) is a German medical organization.
It was founded in 1872 and is one of the oldest medical-scientific learned societies. It is headquartered in Berlin and is headed by pre ...
, 2010–2011
* Co-Editor:
** European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery
The ''European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery'', abbreviated ''Eur J Cardiothorac Surg'', is an academic journal, principally covering topics pertaining to cardiac surgery and thoracic surgery.
Editorial board
The journal has an editorial bo ...
, since 1993
** Transplantationsmedizin, 1988–1992
** Langenbeck’s Archives of Surgery, since 1997
Awards
* 1993 Franz Köhler‐Preis for experimental and clinical organ preservation in lung transplants[CV Axel Havenich, Leopoldina](_blank)
/ref>
* 1995 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize
The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize (german: link=no, Förderpreis für deutsche Wissenschaftler im Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz-Programm der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft), in short Leibniz Prize, is awarded by the German Research Foundation to ...
* 2002 Niedersächsischer Staatspreis
* 2007 Honorary degree
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
by the of Chișinău
Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the ...
, Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...
* 2014 Münster Heart Centre Lecture Award, Stiftung Herzzentrum Münster
References
External links
Corlife
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haverich, Axel
1953 births
Living people
German cardiac surgeons
Physicians from Hanover
People from Lemgo
Foreign Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences