Holger Eltzschig

Holger Eltzschig, MD, PhD is the John P. and Kathrine G. McGovern Distinguished University Chair and Professor of Anesthesiology, Surgery, and Biochemistry at McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. He serves as Associate Vice President for Translational Medicine and Director of the Center for Perioperative Medicine, leading significant initiatives in perioperative research and clinical care.

Dr. Eltzschig earned his MD and PhD from Eberhard-Karls-University in Tübingen, Germany. His extensive training includes residency in Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at Tübingen University Clinic, surgical internship in Cardiac Surgery, and further residency and specialized fellowships at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, including training in Cardiac Anesthesia, Perioperative Transesophageal Echocardiography, and Research in Experimental Therapeutics and Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury. He completed his Habilitation at Eberhard-Karls-University.

Dr. Eltzschig's research program centers on endogenous adaptive pathways controlled by hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) and their application to perioperative medicine. His laboratory investigates these molecular mechanisms across various disease models including acute lung injury, myocardial ischemia, acute kidney injury, and intestinal inflammation. The Eltzschig lab has made seminal contributions to understanding how HIFs regulate adenosine signaling pathways, nucleotide metabolism, and inflammatory responses to protect against ischemic injury. His work on ecto-enzymes like CD39 and CD73 has established fundamental mechanisms in purinergic signaling during tissue hypoxia.

Analysis of Dr. Eltzschig's recent publications reveals a sophisticated integration of hypoxia signaling, adenosine metabolism, and circadian biology across multiple organ systems. His research demonstrates how HIF-dependent pathways regulate protective mechanisms during ischemia-reperfusion injury, with particular focus on A2B adenosine receptor signaling. Recent work has expanded into understanding how these pathways influence immune cell function, tissue regeneration, and clinical outcomes in surgical patients, bridging basic science with translational applications.

• H-index of 106 with over 42,200 citations
• Author of 350+ peer-reviewed publications
• First/senior author papers in Nature, Nature Medicine, Nature Immunology, Circulation, Gastroenterology, and other top journals
• Lead author of three review papers in the New England Journal of Medicine
• Multiple reviews in Nature journals including Nature Reviews Cardiology and Nature Reviews Drug Discovery

Dr. Eltzschig leads a highly productive research program with numerous NIH and foundation grants supporting investigations into hypoxia signaling, adenosine metabolism, and organ protection. His laboratory has trained numerous students and postdoctoral fellows who have established successful independent careers. The Center for Perioperative Medicine, which he directs, fosters collaborative translational research across multiple departments and institutions.

The Eltzschig laboratory operates within the Department of Anesthesiology at McGovern Medical School and maintains extensive collaborations across immunology, cardiology, gastroenterology, and critical care medicine. His team employs cutting-edge approaches including molecular biology, genetically modified mouse models, and clinical translational studies to advance understanding of molecular mechanisms in perioperative physiology and develop novel therapeutic approaches for surgical patients.