Research Activities

The research group of Dr. Bettina Heidecker investigates cardiomyopathies and heart failure. Cardiomyopathy is a term that describes a diseased heart muscle. Different types of cardiomyopathy can have genetic and/or acquired causes and risk factors. Heart failure describes a loss of heart function, which leads to a state in which the heart is too weak to fully function in everyday life.

The research of Dr. Heidecker and her team focuses in particular on the subject of inflammation of the heart muscle and myocarditis. Projects are developed in collaboration with international partners. Collaborations with other clinical institutions as well as industry partners provide optimal resources to execute research from bench to bedside. A combined approach of basic and translational science is applied in retrospective and prospective studies to advance therapies for patients in the future. Recent studies of Dr. Heidecker’s team have been published in Lancet EClincal Medicine, the New England Journal of Medicine, Nature, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Reviews Cardiology, the European Heart Journal, and the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Dr. Heidecker has mentored students and fellows from Europe and the United States. Her mentees have presented at international meetings and have been recipients of research awards including the Paul Dudley White International Scholar Award of the American Heart Association, stipends for best master and best doctoral thesis, as well as stipends from private foundations.

If you are interested in working in Dr. Heidecker’s research team, please contact: kardio-cbf-agh@charite.de

You can find more information about Dr. Heidecker’s research group on the Charité Website.