High honor for Berlin heart researcher

Gabriele Schiattarella researches the mechanisms of heart muscle weakness at the Max Delbrück Center and Deutsches Herzzentrum der Charité (DHZC). Now the International Society for Heart Research, a highly respected professional society, has named him an "Outstanding Investigator."

 

At its conference in Perth, Australia, the International Society for Heart Research (ISHR) presented Dr. Gabriele Schiattarella with the Outstanding Investigator Award. ISHR honors mid-career researchers who have already made significant contributions to cardiovascular research, and whose research will play an important role in the future. Gabriele Schiattarella came to Berlin three and a half years ago to work at the Deutsches Herzzentrum der Charité (DHZC) and as a guest researcher at the Max Delbrück Center. He heads the lab “Translational approaches to heart failure and cardiometabolic diseases,” which is located on the Berlin-Buch campus.

Schiattarella is proud to be recognized by ISHR as an outstanding researcher. Firstly, because he couldn't apply for the award himself — he had to be nominated by peer scientists — and secondly, because ISHR is one of the oldest professional societies for cardiovascular research and has a global influence. This is the second award that Schiattarella has received from the ISHR; in 2019, the society honored him with the Richard J. Bing Award for Young Investigators.

Dr. Schiattarella investigates the mechanisms of heart failure, particularly heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). With HFpEF, it is not the pumping power of the heart that is impaired, but its elasticity. As a result, the heart muscle cannot take in enough blood to supply the body with sufficient oxygen and nutrients. Those affected are less physically resilient, retain water in the lungs and the rest of the body, and experience shortness of breath. Worldwide, one in ten adults over the age of 40 suffers from this condition.

The interaction between heart and liver

HFpEF results from metabolic syndrome, a combination of obesity, high blood pressure, and sugar and fat metabolism disorders. Lack of exercise, stress, smoking, and alcohol contribute to this complex metabolic disease. “Metabolic syndrome is threatening to develop into a real pandemic,” says Schiattarella. “It’s estimated that half of the world's population will be overweight, if not obese, by 2030.”

The cardiologist and his team want to find out how metabolism changes in HFpEF. “We are not limiting ourselves to the heart and heart muscle cells, but are also looking at other organs and systems,” says Schiattarella. The liver and adipose tissue and their interaction with the heart are particularly interesting. He wants to decode the molecular signals that they exchange. Why some people with this syndrome develop fatty liver, while others develop HFpEF, is unknown. Whoever discovers the answer might also uncover approaches for new therapies — in addition to weight loss and physical activity.


Further information

 

 

Back