Heinz Wiendl

Heinz Wiendl (born 1968 in Rötz) is a German neurologist and professor at the University Hospital Muenster. He is known for his works in the field of nervous system inflammation and multiple sclerosis.
Biography.
Wiendl studied psychology and medicine from 1989 to 1996 at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany, Duke University, North Carolina, and Bale University, Switzerland. He obtained his MD in 1996. In the following years, he was a scholar of the German Research Council (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology (Martinsried), worked as a clinical and research fellow at the Department of Neurology Tuebingen, received board certification (2004) and completed his habilitation (2004). In 2005 he was appointed as a professor of neurology and head of the clinical research group for MS and neuroimmunology in Wuerzburg and acted as a vice-chair of the Department of Neurology. In 2010 he was recruited to the University of Muenster, where he accepted the position as a director of the Department of Neurology – Inflammatory Diseases of the Nervous System and Neurooncology. Since 1 May 2013 he is director of the Department of Neurology in Muenster.
Scientific contribution.
Wiendl’s clinical and scientific work focusses on inflammatory diseases of the nervous system. Taking multiple sclerosis as an exemplary disease, he primarily investigates aspects of immuneregulation and the interaction between immune system and nervous system. Furthermore, Wiendl conducted research projects on immune cell trafficking and explores biomarkers for the prognosis and therapy of multiple sclerosis. By establishing translational research projects, his work helps to further elucidate the question of how immune therapies in neurological diseases work and how new mechanisms of action can be developed. In his research projects, Wiendl pursues a translational approach, closely connecting laboratory work with patient care. With this objective, he also established a biobank at the Department of Neurology Muenster. Wiendl was involved in the development of the monoclonal antibody daclizumab which was approved in 2016 and exhibits a completely new mechanism of action in MS therapy, and Ofatumumab. Heinz Wiendl helped to establish the multiple sclerosis network KKNMS (Krankheitsbezogenes Kompetenznetzwerk Multiple Sklerose). He is co-speaker of the transregional collaborative research center 128 ("Multiple Sclerosis") of the DFG and acts as a member of the steering committee of the excellence cluster "Cells in Motion" (CiM), funded by the German federal government. In 2019, Wiendl was one of the main initiators of the successful application for funds from the German government to build the "Body and Brain Institute" and since has been acting as speaker of the project.
Academic memberships.
Wiendl is a member in the following academic societies: German Society for Immunology (DGfI), German Society of Multiple Sclerosis (DMSG), German Society for Muscular Disease (DGM), German Society of Neurology (DGN), American Academy of Neurology (AAN), International Society of Neuroimmunology (ISNI), Editorial Board of the Public Library of Science (PLoS) ONE.
Third-party funding.
Wiendl receives funds from the European Union, the federal ministry for education and research (BMBF) for Germany and Nordrhein-Westfalen, the Deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft (DFG), the program for innovative medical research (IMF) of the medical faculty Muenster, the interdisciplinary center for clinical research (IZKF) Muenster, the Else-Kroener-Fresenius-Stiftung and the RE Children’s Foundation.
Publications.
Wiendl published more than 500 scientific works and reviews, books, book chapters and monographies (as of November 2020). Selected publications: