The minds behind FEBGLA e.V. –

Board and contact persons

FEBGLA e.V. thrives on the people who shape the association with their expertise, commitment, and scientific passion. Here we introduce the chairpersons and contact persons who guide and develop the work of the association.

(University of Tübingen, Germany)

Prof. Dr. Robert Lukowski

[Translate to English:] Dr_Robert_Lukowski

1st chairman

Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Tübingen since May 2018. In this role, he coordinates the graduate school of the Interfaculty Center for Pharmacogenomics and Pharma Research (ICEPHA), a research alliance with Tübingen University Hospital, the Robert Bosch Hospital in Stuttgart and the Robert Bosch Foundation focusing on cancer biology and therapy from an interdisciplinary perspective. Dr. Lukowski was recently appointed editor of the British Journal of Pharmacology (BJP), he acts as associate editor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and has been co-organizer of the internationally renowned conference series "cGMP Generators, Effectors and Therapeutic Implications" since 2017. He is also deputy spokesperson of the Research Training Group 2381 (RTG2381) entitled "cGMP: From Bedside to Bench", which was extended in December 2023 by the German Research Foundation (DFG) for a second funding period to promote early career researchers in this field. His research group investigates the impact of genetic and pharmacological cGMP pathway modulation and the manipulation of Ca2+/Na+-activated K+ channels on the pathogenesis of cardiovascular and neuronal diseases as well as metabolic disorders and cancer. By combining innovative animal models with state-of-the-art biosensors to visualize the dynamics of important analytes in our body (such as K+, Ca2+, H2O2, cGMP and ATP etc.), he and his team aim to clarify whether dysregulated second messenger pathways and/or discrete K+ channel subpopulations represent promising targets for new drugs.

  1. Cruz Santos M, Birkenfeld L, Pham T, Maier S, Paulus K, Ullemeyer L, Knauer A, Kabagema-Bilan C, Langst N, Roslan A, Wettschureck N, Gawaz M, Ichinose F, Lukowski R. 2025. Angiotensin II-induced cardiac fibrosis and dysfunction are exacerbated by deletion of cGKI in periostin+ myofibroblasts. Clin Sci (Lond) 139:507-26.
  2. Roslan A, Paulus K, Yang J, Matt L, Bischof H, Langst N, Schanz S, Luczak A, Cruz Santos M, Burgstaller S, Skrabak D, Bork NI, Malli R, Schmidtko A, Gawaz M, Nikolaev VO, Ruth P, Ehinger R, Lukowski R. 2025. Slack K+ channels confer protection against myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion injury. Cardiovasc Res 121:174-89.
  3. Bischof H, Maier S, Koprowski P, Kulawiak B, Burgstaller S, Jasinska J, Serafimov K, Zochowska M, Gross D, Schroth W, Matt L, Juarez Lopez DA, Zhang Y, Bonzheim I, Buttner FA, Fend F, Schwab M, Birkenfeld AL, Malli R, Lammerhofer M, Bednarczyk P, Szewczyk A, Lukowski R. 2024. mitoBK(Ca) is functionally expressed in murine and human breast cancer cells and potentially contributes to metabolic reprogramming. Elife 12:
  4. Gross D, Bischof H, Maier S, Sporbeck K, Birkenfeld AL, Malli R, Ruth P, Proikas-Cezanne T, Lukowski R. 2022. IK(Ca) channels control breast cancer metabolism including AMPK-driven autophagy. Cell Death Dis 13:902.
  5. Frankenreiter S, Bednarczyk P, Kniess A, Bork NI, Straubinger J, Koprowski P, Wrzosek A, Mohr E, Logan A, Murphy MP, Gawaz M, Krieg T, Szewczyk A, Nikolaev VO, Ruth P, Lukowski R. 2017. cGMP-Elevating Compounds and Ischemic Conditioning Provide Cardioprotection Against Ischemia and Reperfusion Injury via Cardiomyocyte-Specific BK Channels. Circulation 136:2337-55.

(Queen Mary University of London, UK)

Prof. Adrian J Hobbs

[Translate to English:] Adrian_Hobbs

2nd chairman

Prof. Adrian Hobbs completed his BSc in Pharmacology, obtaining First Class Honours, at King’s College London in 1989 and remained at the same institution to undertake a PhD in Pharmacology. Having completed his doctorate in the autumn of 1992, Adrian took up a post-doctoral position in the laboratory of Nobel Laureate, Prof. L.J. Ignarro, in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of California, Los Angeles. At the end of 1996, Adrian returned to the UK to take up a post-doctoral position at the Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London (UCL), under the mentorship of Prof. Sir Salvador Moncada, and was subsequently awarded Wellcome Trust Career Development (1998) and Senior (2002) Fellowships. He became a Reader in Cardiovascular Pharmacology at UCL in 2007 and then moved to the William Harvey Research Institute in 2011 to take up a Chair in Cardiovascular Pharmacology.

Prof. Hobbs is internationally renowned for his work in the field of cyclic GMP signaling as it pertains to the physiological, pathological and pharmacological roles of nitric oxide and natriuretic peptides. He holds a British Heart Foundation Programme grant exploring the cardiac and vascular roles of C-type natriuretic peptide and has received BHF Translational Award funding to pursue the development of small molecule agonists at natriuretic peptide receptor (NPR)-C for cardiovascular disease, including myocardial infarction and heart failure. Prof. Hobbs is an Associate Editor for the Nitric Oxide Journal.

  1. Perez-Ternero C, Aubdool AA, Makwana R, Sanger GJ, Stimson RH, Chan LF, Moyes AJ, Hobbs AJ. 2022. C-type natriuretic peptide is a pivotal regulator of metabolic homeostasis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 119:e2116470119.
  2. Moyes AJ, Chu SM, Aubdool AA, Dukinfield MS, Margulies KB, Bedi KC, Hodivala-Dilke K, Baliga RS, Hobbs AJ. 2020. C-type natriuretic peptide co-ordinates cardiac structure and function. Eur Heart J 41:1006-20.
  3. Bubb KJ, Aubdool AA, Moyes AJ, Lewis S, Drayton JP, Tang O, Mehta V, Zachary IC, Abraham DJ, Tsui J, Hobbs AJ. 2019. Endothelial C-Type Natriuretic Peptide Is a Critical Regulator of Angiogenesis and Vascular Remodeling. Circulation 139:1612-28.
  4. Baliga RS, Preedy MEJ, Dukinfield MS, Chu SM, Aubdool AA, Bubb KJ, Moyes AJ, Tones MA, Hobbs AJ. 2018. Phosphodiesterase 2 inhibition preferentially promotes NO/guanylyl cyclase/cGMP signaling to reverse the development of heart failure. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 115:E7428-E37.
  5. Moyes AJ, Khambata RS, Villar I, Bubb KJ, Baliga RS, Lumsden NG, Xiao F, Gane PJ, Rebstock AS, Worthington RJ, Simone MI, Mota F, Rivilla F, Vallejo S, Peiro C, Sanchez Ferrer CF, Djordjevic S, Caulfield MJ, MacAllister RJ, Selwood DL, Ahluwalia A, Hobbs AJ. 2014. Endothelial C-type natriuretic peptide maintains vascular homeostasis. J Clin Invest 124:4039-51.

(HHU Düsseldorf, Germany)

Prof. Dr. Dr. Miriam Cortese-Krott

Treasurer

Miriam M. Cortese-Krott is an internationally recognized expert in cardiovascular pharmacology, specializing in nitric oxide (NO) and redox signaling. She graduated with honors in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology from the University of Milan and earned her PhD in Pharmacology with distinction from Heinrich Heine University (HHU), where she investigated the role of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in inflammation. After her PhD, Dr. Cortese-Krott conducted pioneering research on the in vivo role of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in red blood cells (RBCs) and its impact on cardiovascular regulation at RWTH Aachen University and HHU Düsseldorf.

In 2016, she was appointed Professor at HHU, where she established her research group. She has developed cell-specific eNOS knockout (KO) and knock-in (KI) mouse models to elucidate the physiological and pathological roles of NO across different tissues. She then spent two years as a Wenner-Gren Research Fellow at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, focusing on NO-mediated metabolic regulation and cGMP signaling.

She has received multiple awards for her contributions to redox biology and NO research. She holds leadership roles in major scientific societies, serving as President of the Nitric Oxide Society, a council member of the cGMP Society, and a council member of the Society for Redox Biology and Medicine (SfRBM). In addition to her research, she serves as Chief Editor of Nitric Oxide and Senior Editor at the British Journal of Pharmacology

  1. Leo F, Suvorava T, Heuser SK, Li J, LoBue A, Barbarino F, Piragine E, Schneckmann R, Hutzler B, Good ME, Fernandez BO, Vornholz L, Rogers S, Doctor A, Grandoch M, Stegbauer J, Weitzberg E, Feelisch M, Lundberg JO, Isakson BE, Kelm M, Cortese-Krott MM. 2021. Red Blood Cell and Endothelial eNOS Independently Regulate Circulating Nitric Oxide Metabolites and Blood Pressure. Circulation 144:870-89.
  2. Cortese-Krott MM, Mergia E, Kramer CM, Luckstadt W, Yang J, Wolff G, Panknin C, Bracht T, Sitek B, Pernow J, Stasch JP, Feelisch M, Koesling D, Kelm M. 2018. Identification of a soluble guanylate cyclase in RBCs: preserved activity in patients with coronary artery disease. Redox Biol 14:328-37.
  3. Kuhn V, Diederich L, Keller TCSt, Kramer CM, Luckstadt W, Panknin C, Suvorava T, Isakson BE, Kelm M, Cortese-Krott MM. 2017. Red Blood Cell Function and Dysfunction: Redox Regulation, Nitric Oxide Metabolism, Anemia. Antioxid Redox Signal 26:718-42.
  4. Cortese-Krott MM, Kuhnle GG, Dyson A, Fernandez BO, Grman M, DuMond JF, Barrow MP, McLeod G, Nakagawa H, Ondrias K, Nagy P, King SB, Saavedra JE, Keefer LK, Singer M, Kelm M, Butler AR, Feelisch M. 2015. Key bioactive reaction products of the NO/H2S interaction are S/N-hybrid species, polysulfides, and nitroxyl. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 112:E4651-60.
  5. Cortese-Krott MM, Rodriguez-Mateos A, Sansone R, Kuhnle GG, Thasian-Sivarajah S, Krenz T, Horn P, Krisp C, Wolters D, Heiss C, Kroncke KD, Hogg N, Feelisch M, Kelm M. 2012. Human red blood cells at work: identification and visualization of erythrocytic eNOS activity in health and disease. Blood 120:4229-37.

(Bayer AG, Pharmaceuticals, Wuppertal, Germany)

Prof. Dr. Peter Sandner

[Translate to English:] Peter_Sander

Secretary

Peter Sandner is a pharmacist by training, holds a PhD in Physiology from the University of Regensburg, Germany and is an appointed extraordinary professor for pharmacology at Hannover Medical School, Germany. Till 2001, Peter is working in Drug Discovery Research of Bayer AG, Pharmaceuticals at the Research Center at Wuppertal, Germany and was nominated as Chief Scientist (Scientific VP) in 2016. Peter is involved in the discovery and non-clinical profiling of new treatments for cardiovascular, cardiopulmonary and cardiorenal diseases but also beyond this indication focus, e.g. in rare diseases or urological disorders. Within Bayer he could continue his academic research on cyclic nucleotides and cGMP by nonclinical profiling of cGMP-increasing therapeutic principles, especially phosphodiesterase inhibitors and stimulators and activators of soluble guanylyl cyclase. He is responsible for the nonclinical research with sGC stimulators and sGC activators in various therapeutic areas including the marketed sGC stimulators riociguat and vericiguat and the sGC activators runcaciguat and nurandociguat.

  1. Sandner P, Zimmer DP, Milne GT, Follmann M, Hobbs A, Stasch JP. Soluble Guanylate Cyclase Stimulators and Activators. Handb Exp Pharmacol. 2021;264:355-394.
  2. Droebner K, Sandner P. 2013. Modification of the salivary secretion assay in F508del mice--the murine equivalent of the human sweat test. J Cyst Fibros 12:630-7.
  3. Sandner P, Ziegelbauer K. 2008. Product-related research: how research can contribute to successful life-cycle management. Drug Discov Today 13:457-63.
  4. Tinel H, Stelte-Ludwig B, Hutter J, Sandner P. 2006. Pre-clinical evidence for the use of phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia and lower urinary tract symptoms. BJU Int 98:1259-63.
  5. Sandner P, Kornfeld M, Ruan X, Arendshorst WJ, Kurtz A. 1999. Nitric oxide/cAMP interactions in the control of rat renal vascular resistance. Circ Res 84:186-92.

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