Curriculum vitae

Curriculum vitae
Andreas Günther, MD
Full Professor of Internal Medicine
born 23.01.1965 in Kassel, Germany, married, two children
Address
Lung Clinic Waldhof Elgershausen
35753 Greifenstein
Phone: +49 6441 927 262
Fax: +49 6441 927 399
e-mail: a.guenther@klinik-waldhof.de
Justus-Liebig-University Giessen
University of Giessen Lung Center
Medical Clinic II
Klinikstrasse 36
D-35392 Giessen, Germany
Tel.: +49 641 99-42502
Fax: +49 641 99-42508
E-Mail: Andreas.Guenther@innere.med.uni-giessen.de
University Education
2006 Board Certifications “Pulmonary Medicine” and “Intensive Care Medicine”
2002 Board Certification “Internal Medicine”
1994 - 2001 Residency, Dept. of Internal Medicine, University of Giessen School of Medicine
1992 - 1994 Internship, Dept. of Internal Medicine, University of Giessen School of Medicine
1985 - 1992 Studies of Medicine at the University of Giessen School of Medicine, Germany
Professional Positions
2009 - Medical Chair/Ärztlicher Direktor, Pneumologische Klinik Waldhof
Elgershausen, Greifenstein, Germany
2009 - Coordinator “German Diffuse Parenchymal Lung Disease Network” (BMBF)
2008 - Coordinator “European Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Network” (FP7 EU)
2006 - Member Excellence Cluster “Cardiopulmonary System”; Coordinator platform B:
translation of basic science into clinical studies and commercial exploitation
(DFG)
2006 - 2010 Head Clinical Research Group “Pathomechanisms and Therapy of Lung
Fibrosis” (DFG, KFO 118)
2006 - Full Professor for Internal Medicine (29.08.06)
2005 - Member Board of Directors University of Giessen Lung Center (UGLC)
2002 - Director, ILD Outpatient Clinic, University of Giessen School of Medicine
2002 - Faculty member PhD programme “Molecular Biology and Medicine of the Lung”
2002 - Senior Associate in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of
Medicine, University of Giessen School of Medicine
2001 Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of
Giessen School of Medicine
2001 - 2002 Head of ILD Clinic, University of Giessen School of Medicine, Germany

Awards and Honours
2005 „Best teacher of the year award“, International Graduate Program “Molecular
Biology and Medicine of the Lung”
2002 - 2005 Heisenberg Stipend of the German Research Council
2001 - 2003 Lung Fibrosis Stipend of the German Lung Foundation
2003 „Best teacher of the year award“, International Graduate Program “Molecular
Biology and Medicine of the Lung”
2001 Award for outstanding scientific achievements, German Pneumologic Society
2000 Young Investigator Award, German Pneumologic Society
1996 Dissertation Award, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen
Funding
1994 – 7.094.993€ in total, 6.060.327€ on basis of peer-reviewed grants in networks,
SFBs, KFOs and single applications (European Commission, German Research
Council, German Ministry of Education and Research, University of Giessen
School of Medicine) and 466.850€ from industrial sources (in frame of clinical
trials)
Publications
1994 – in total 135 scientific publications, among which are:
88 original, peer reviewed articles exclusively in medline listed, native english
journals (42 first/senior author),
1 article in revision
3 “letters to the editor” or “correspondence”
28 invited reviews, editorials or commentaries (19 first/senior author),
12 book chapters (11 first/senior author),
3 chapters in textbooks (Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine)
Patents
2007 - DE 10 2007 062 411.7: “Reinforcement of correct epithelial processing of
hydrophobic surfactant protein B and blockade of epithelial maladaptive ERstress
response or apoptosis as new treatment option in sporadic Idiopathic
Pulmonary Fibrosis”
2006 - PCT/EP2006/003154: “New dry nebulizer”
2003 - PCT/EP2003/14542: “Novel chimeric plasminogen activators and their
pharmaceutical use”
1999 - PCT/EP99/04796: “Determination of the hydrophobic pulmonary surfactant
protein SP-C”
Professional Societies
2008 - Member, German Society for Internal Medicine
2008 - Member, German Technology, Methods, and Infrastructure for Networked Medical
Research (TMF)
2008 - Member, International Conference on Rare Diseases and Orphan Drugs (ICORD)
2008- Member, European Respiratory Society (ERS)
2006 - Member, German Sepsis Association (Deutsche Sepsis-Gesellschaft)
2002 - Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the German Lung Fibrosis Self Care
Association (Erwachsenen Histiozytosis X [EHX])
2000 - Member, German Pneumologic Society (DGP)
1998 - Member, American Thoracic Society (ATS)

Reviewer Responsibilities
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine; American Journal of Respiratory
Cell and Molecular Biology; American Journal of Physiology; Atherosclerosis; European
Respiratory Journal; Intensive Care Medicine; Journal of Applied Physiology; Journal of Cell
Science; New England Journal of Medicine; Pediatric Research; Respiratory Research;
Thorax; Thrombosis and Haemostasis; Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Composition of Günther Group
Post Docs
Physicians
Students
4 PhDs (biology, chemistry, pharmacy), 1 MD
3 (2 interns, 1 senior physician)
5 PhD students (International Graduate Program)
10 medical students
Technicians 4
Management 1 personal assistant / project manager, 1 secretary
Method Competence reflecting the translational research approach
Cell biology: isolation and culture of lung endothelial and epithelial cells and fibroblasts; laserassisted
cell picking; semiquantitative and quantitative RT-PCR; transfection of various
cell types with siRNA and gene vectors; assessment of proliferation, apoptosis, cell
cycle, cellular transport processes,
Biochemistry: HPTLC; HPTLC; GC; FPLC; SDS-PAGE and Western Blotting; ELISA; enzyme
activity assays including active site titration; ligand binding assays;
immunoprecipitation; proteomic profiling (conventional, DIGE)
Molecular Biology: Transcriptome profiling of laser dissected and preamplified tissues; vector
cloning; reporter gene assays; gene sequencing; northern/southern blotting; EMSA.
Animal Experimentation: Expertise in generation, housing and breeding of transgenic mice;
comprehensive description of lung phenotyp by assessment of physiological variables
(lung compliance, gas exchange), radiological (volume or high resoluted CT) or
histological changes (digital slide scanning and subsequent fully automatized
morphometric analysis (Axiovision software Zeiss), surrogate parameters of fibrosis
(soluble collagen, hydroxyproline), immunohistochemistry with quantitative evaluation.
Established Animal Models of Lung Fibrosis:
Inflammatory: Bleomycin – induced lung fibrosis
Non-inflammatory, short term: Amiodarone - or pepstatin-induced lung fibrosis
Non-inflammatory, long term: SP-C KO, HPS 1/2,
Established other Animal Models:
Model of ventilator-induced lung injury in rats
Acute respiratory failure/ARDS through repetitive lavage (rabbits) or LPS (mice)
Bacterial pneumonia models (klebsiella, pneumococci, pseudomonas) in mice
Microbiological / immunological techniques:
Quantitative bacterial cultures; microbial clearance studies in vivo, antimicrobial activity
assays
Clinical:
Conductance of several clinical trials in the field of ARDS, asthma, pneumonia and ILD,
mostly at the level of steering committee member in pharmaceutically sponsored trials
or in own (investigator) driven studies; excellent evaluation in all audits from health
authorities or sponsors in view of quality of conducted clinical research and adherence
to GCP; regular performance of interdisciplinary conferences for diagnosis of ILD;
outpatient clinic with currently > 1000 patients per year

Selected scientific aims - areas of expertise
1) Regulation of alveolar surface tension under conditions of acute respiratory failure and
chronic interstitial lung disease
2) Regulation of intracellular transport and lysosomal processing of pulmonary surfactant in
alveolar type II cells under physiological and pathophysiological conditions
3) Interdependence of defective processing of surfactant proteins, development of ER
stress, apoptosis and development of lung fibrosis
4) Disclosure of pro-apoptotic signalling in alveolar type II cells and their role in diffuse
parenchymal lung diseases
5) Deciphering the relative importance and interaction of the intrinsic and the extrinsic
coagulation system within the vasculature and inside the alveolus
6) Fibrinolytic and epithelial-protective effects of different plasminogen activators –
development of new strategies for correction of antifibrinolytic burden in ARDS and IPF
7) Alveolar innate immune defense system and susceptibility to recurrent infection in
chronic lung diseases – therapeutic prospects
8) Role of urokinase and vasculogenesis in primary tumor growth of lung cancer
9) Oxidative stress and antioxidative capacities in the alveolar epithelium and their role in
acute inflammatory and chronic interstitial lung diseases
10) Differential regulation of MMPs and TIMPs in interstitial lung diseases – special role of
MMP13
11) Cellular consequences of selective overexpression of single ER-stress signalling
molecules in vitro and in vivo
12) αvβ6 integrins, TGF-b activation and smad 7 signalling in ILD
13) New strategies for inhalative application of pharmaceuticals in mice and men
14) Deciphering new surrogate parameters of disease progression in blood, BALF and
exhaled breath condensate in IPF, NSIP and ILD due to collagen/vascular diseases
15) Classification of fibrotic and cellular NSIP patients according to BALF cell differential,
HRCT and histopathology
16) Role of HGF in epithelial protection in IPF and ARDS
17) Notch signalling in the fibrotic lung and it´s role in local stem cell proliferation and
differentiation
18) Mutual interplay between respiratory infections and development of lung fibrosis
19) Development of novel dual Xa/IIa antagonists for local alveolar anticoagulation
20) Disclosure of new candidate genes in familiar forms of IPF
21) Clinical development of a selective alveolar anticoagulation in IPF
22) Clinical development of strategies for selective alveolar application of antiapoptotic drugs