Detail

Keywords

Acute Coronary Syndrome; Biomarkers, Pharmacological; Fabry Disease; Heart Failure, Systolic; Inflammation; Intensive Care; Mitochondrial Diseases; Myocarditis; Pericarditis; Shock, Cardiogenic

Research interests

My research focuses on the pathophysiology, diagnosis, risk stratification, and treatment of myocarditis and perimyocarditis, with particular emphasis on fulminant disease, acute heart failure, and cardiogenic shock. I am interested in inflammatory and immune-mediated mechanisms of myocardial injury, circulating biomarkers, mitochondrial dysfunction, and translational therapeutic targets. A further focus is the clinical implementation of multimodal cardiac imaging and mechanical circulatory support in critically ill cardiovascular patients. My aim is to connect translational research with prospective clinical studies and real-world data to improve early diagnosis, individualized treatment, and long-term outcomes in patients with inflammatory heart disease.

Techniques, methods & infrastructure

My research combines prospective and retrospective clinical cohorts, registry-based analyses, and translational experimental approaches. Methods include standardized clinical phenotyping, electrocardiography, echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, hemodynamic assessment, and longitudinal outcome evaluation. Biospecimen-based studies use blood sampling, biomarker profiling, and molecular analyses to investigate inflammatory and mitochondrial pathways. Multivariable statistics and survival analyses are applied for risk stratification and outcome prediction. The clinical infrastructure includes a tertiary cardiovascular center with a cardiac intensive care unit, advanced multimodal imaging, endomyocardial biopsy, and access to temporary mechanical circulatory support, enabling interdisciplinary studies across cardiology, intensive care, cardiac surgery, radiology, pathology, and laboratory medicine.

Selected publications

1. Lenz, M. et al. (2022) “Pharmacologic modulation of intracellular Na concentration with ranolazine impacts inflammatory response in humans and mice,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Edited by , 119(29).
2. Krychtiuk, K.A. et al. (2015) “Mitochondrial DNA and Toll-Like Receptor-9 Are Associated With Mortality in Critically Ill Patients,” Critical Care Medicine. Edited by , 43(12), pp. 2633–2641. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1097/ccm.0000000000001311.
3. Lenz, M. et al. (2024) “Mechanical Circulatory Support Systems in Fulminant Myocarditis: Recent Advances and Outlook,” Journal of Clinical Medicine. Edited by , 13(5), p. 1197. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13051197.
4. Kerneis, M. et al. (2025) “Clinical management of acute myocarditis in daily practice: an expert practical view,” European Heart Journal: Acute Cardiovascular Care. Edited by , 14(7), pp. 420–431. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/ehjacc/zuaf057.
5. Roubille, F. et al. (2026) “Inflammation in coronary syndromes in clinical practice: a clinical consensus statement of the Association for Acute Cardiovascular Care of the European Society of Cardiology, the European Society of Cardiology Working Group on Myocardial and Pericardial Diseases, the European Society of Cardiology Council on Basic Cardiovascular Science, and the European Society of Cardiology Council for Cardiology Practice,” European Heart Journal: Acute Cardiovascular Care.