Martin J. Lohse

Who is Martin J. Lohse?

Martin J. Lohse, M.D. born 26 August 1956, is a German physician and pharmacologist doing research on G protein-coupled receptors. Since 1993, he is a Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Würzburg, Germany, as well as Chairman of the Rudolf Virchow Center. He received his exam in medicine as well as his M.D. from the University of Göttingen, and did research in pharmacology at the University of Heidelberg, Duke University and the GeneCenter in Munich. His research focusses on the role of receptors in heart failure and on the mechanisms of their activation and inactivation. He pioneered the use of optical techniques to determine, where in how fast receptors become activated by hormones and neurotransmitters. He also discovered that beta-1 adrenergic receptors and their regulatory G protein-coupled receptor kinases are dysregulated in heart failure. These data contributed to the use of beta-blockers in heart failure patients.

He was awarded the Leibniz Award in 1999, the Ernst Jung Award for Medicine in 2000, and the Research Achievement Award of the International Society of Heart Research in 2007. From 2003 until 2008 he was a member of the German National Ethics Council.