Johannes Backs

Prof. Dr. Johannes Backs serves as DZHK Professor for Epigenetic Regulatory Mechanisms in the Myocardium, Director of the Institute of Experimental Cardiology at Heidelberg University Hospital, and Speaker of the DZHK partner site Heidelberg/Mannheim. His leadership role includes overseeing the expansion of the Institute of Experimental Cardiology, which was established in 2018 as part of the Center for Internal Medicine (Krehl Clinic).

Professor Backs' research focuses on understanding how environmental factors and comorbidities including stress, diabetes, and cancer interact at the molecular level with the cardiac genome to cause heart failure. His team has made paradigm-shifting discoveries showing that cardiac dysfunction is driven by specific metabolic and inflammatory mediators that act through epigenetic enzymes to cause coordinated changes in gene expression. His work has identified key pathways involving lipid droplet-associated proteins, histone deacetylases, and CaM kinase II that regulate cardiac function and contractility.

Analysis of Prof. Backs' recent publications reveals a consistent focus on epigenetic regulation of cardiac function, particularly through histone-modifying enzymes and their interactions with metabolic pathways. His research bridges fundamental molecular mechanisms with translational applications, as evidenced by the drug development program targeting CaMKII-HDAC4 inhibitory compounds for heart failure patients with diabetes.

• Elected as Vice-Chair for the Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Epigenetic Regulation of Cardiovascular Disease in 2021 (Chair in 2023)
• Arthur-Weber Award, German Cardiac Society (DGK) (2019)
• Outstanding Investigator Award from the International Society of Heart Research (ISHR) (2017)
• Outstanding Achievement Award from the Council on Basic Cardiovascular Science of the European Society of Cardiology (CBCS) (2016)
• Outstanding Early Investigator Award from the American Heart Association (AHA) (2015)

Prof. Backs leads a substantial research team including postdocs, PhD students, MD/PhD students, and technical staff. His laboratory is part of the CRC 1550 "Molecular Circuits of Heart Disease" where he serves as spokesperson, with approximately 14 million euros in funding. The Backs Lab maintains strong collaborations with other research groups at Heidelberg University, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, and the German Cancer Research Center. Current projects focus on hereditary forms of heart failure such as RBM20 cardiomyopathy and the contribution of gene expression to acute heart failure caused by inflammation or emotional stress.