Claudia Goettsch

Claudia Goettsch is a W2 Professor of Physiology at the Institute of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Dresden University of Technology since January 2025. Her research focuses on tissue remodeling and metabolism, particularly in the context of the cardiovascular-renal-metabolic syndrome. Previously, she served as a Research Group Leader at the Department of Cardiology, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen (2016-2024), and completed postdoctoral training at Harvard University Medical School (2011-2016) and TU Dresden (2007-2011).

Professor Goettsch earned her PhD in Food Chemistry and Vascular Biology from TU Dresden in 2007, following a Diploma degree in Nutritional Science from Friedrich-Schiller University, Jena in 2003.

Her research investigates the complex interplay between organs, particularly how Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) often coexists with chronic kidney disease (CKD), leading to cardiovascular complications. A major focus is on arterial calcification—pathological calcific mineral deposition within arteries—which is a significant but understudied mechanism in cardiovascular diseases. Her team has discovered that extracellular vesicles play a pivotal role in regulating microcalcification formation, with intracellular trafficking processes and post-translational modifications of the lysosomal sorting receptor sortilin being key regulators of the calcification potential of these vesicles. Current research examines the role of NOX-mediated redox status, endomembrane maturation, and the molecular mechanisms mediating pro-calcifying cargo loading into extracellular vesicles.

Professor Goettsch's publication record demonstrates consistent contributions to understanding vascular calcification mechanisms, with recent work focusing on sortilin's role in cardiovascular disease and the molecular pathways linking extracellular vesicles to calcification processes. Her research shows a clear progression from basic molecular mechanisms to clinically relevant findings, particularly regarding cardiovascular complications in patients with chronic renal insufficiency and diabetes mellitus.

• Carbamylated sortilin associates with cardiovascular calcification in patients with chronic kidney disease (2022)
• Integrative Multi-Omics Analysis in Calcific Aortic Valve Disease Reveals a Link to the Formation of Amyloid-Like Deposits (2020)
• Serum Sortilin Associates With Aortic Calcification and Cardiovascular Risk in Men (2017)
• Sortilin mediates vascular calcification via its recruitment into extracellular vesicles (2016)
• NADPH oxidase 4 limits bone mass by promoting osteoclastogenesis (2013)

Professor Goettsch leads the 'Tissue remodeling and metabolism' research group, which employs a multidisciplinary approach combining in vitro and in vivo studies with cutting-edge omics strategies. Her lab investigates molecular pathways driving vascular dysfunction in metabolic disorders, with particular focus on how dysregulated metabolism leads to phenotypic changes contributing to vascular pathologies. Current projects examine the biogenesis of extracellular vesicle subpopulations contributing to fibro-calcifying remodeling in vascular and renal dysfunction, as well as regulatory mechanisms governing smooth muscle cell metabolism.