Martin Andreas

Graz cardiac surgery has a new head

Heart surgeon Martin Andreas

(Bild: Marija Kanizaj/LKH-Univ. Klinikum Graz)

Cardiac surgery in Graz is getting a new head: Martin Andreas is taking over the clinical department at the LKH University Hospital and has been appointed university professor for cardiac surgery at the Medical University of Graz. Annkristin Heine takes over the Department of Internal Medicine and Hematology.

As of March 1, the Medical University of Graz has two new university professors: Martin Andreas takes over cardiac surgery and Annkristin Heine becomes head of the Clinical Department of Hematology at Graz University Hospital. Andreas, born in Vienna in 1983, has most recently headed the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Microinvasive Cardiac Surgery since 2022. Prior to that, he was Managing Senior Physician at MedUni Vienna's Department of Cardiac Surgery, and research stays took him to Stanford University and Zurich University Hospital. 

In Graz, Andreas would like to further expand cardiovascular research and establish innovative and gentle therapeutic approaches in clinical practice. More virtual and augmented reality will also be used in training. "Cardiac surgery is at a turning point. With new technologies and minimally invasive procedures, we can help patients ever more gently and efficiently," says Andreas.

Turbulent years
Cardiac surgery in Graz hit the headlines in 2019 due to several complications: In January, a patient was sent home before heart surgery to have a tooth treated. The 70-year-old died shortly afterwards. The public prosecutor's office in Graz opened an investigation. In 2022, a doctor was sentenced to a fine for involuntary manslaughter.

A former head of cardiac surgery stood trial in 2019 because he had previously been the superior of the patient murderer Niels H. in Oldenburg. 

Daniel Zimpfer took over the Clinical Department in 2022. In 2024, he returned to the Medical University of Vienna, where Zimpfer's predecessor in the capital, Günther Laufer, took over on an interim basis. Laufer had recently retired as Head of Cardiac Surgery at the Medical University of Vienna.

Tumor immunologist takes over haematology
Annkristin Heine, who is taking over the Clinical Department of Haematology, was born in Hanover in 1979 and completed her studies at the Eberhard Karls University in Tübingen. She gained international experience at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and at the Bergonié Cancer Center in Bordeaux. Since 2024, she has been Vice Dean for International Affairs and Junior Researchers at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Bonn.

Annkristin Heine

(Bild: DANIEL HAMMELSTEIN)

"Haematology is developing rapidly and immunotherapies play a key role in the treatment of serious diseases," she says.