idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
idw - Informationsdienst
Wissenschaft
The experienced transplant physician took up the newly established W3 professorship of “Pediatrics with a focus on nephrology, hepatology and transplantation medicine” at the Heidelberg Faculty of Medicine at Heidelberg University and became medical director of Department I at the Center for Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine at Heidelberg University Hospital on 1 September 2026. In the coming years, he will establish a liver transplantation program for children and adolescents.
For Professor Jun Oh, the move to Heidelberg marks a return to his roots: He was born at Heidelberg University Women’s Hospital, studied medicine at Heidelberg University and completed his specialist training in pediatrics at the university children’s hospital in Heidelberg. On 1 September, he took up the newly established W3 professorship of “Pediatrics with a Focus on Nephrology, Hepatology and Transplantation Medicine” at the Heidelberg Faculty of Medicine at Heidelberg University. In conjunction with this appointment, he also became medical director of Department I of Pediatric Nephrology, Hepatology and Transplantation Medicine at the Center for Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine at Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD). The new Department I emerged from the former Department of General Pediatrics, Nephrology, Neuropediatrics and Metabolic Medicine. Most recently, Oh served as deputy medical director of the Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. One focus of his clinical work in Heidelberg will be the establishment of a pediatric liver transplantation program.
“In the future, children with severe and sometimes rare liver diseases and their families should be able to receive seamless care at Heidelberg University Hospital, from diagnosis through a potential transplant to long-term follow-up. Professor Oh brings extensive experience in pediatric transplantation medicine and will further strengthen highly specialized care for children with severe kidney and liver diseases. In doing so, we are closing an important gap in care,” says Professor Hanns-Peter Knaebel, chief executive officer and chief medical officer of Heidelberg University Hospital.
“With Professor Jun Oh, the Heidelberg Faculty of Medicine has gained an internationally recognized scientist who will play a key role in shaping the future of pediatric transplantation medicine. His research aims not only to treat rejection episodes and long-term graft damage, but to identify and prevent them as early as possible through innovative approaches to immune monitoring and individualized risk prediction,” says Professor Michael Boutros, dean of the Heidelberg Faculty of Medicine at Heidelberg University. “What is particularly valuable is his approach, which combines state-of-the-art analyses of immune processes, biomarkers and microbiome changes with clinical questions. Together with the region‘s outstanding research infrastructure and collaborative networks, this creates an opportunity to set new standards for personalized and preventive transplantation medicine in children and adolescents.”
Establishing a pediatric liver transplantation program in Heidelberg
Professor Jun Oh often cares for children with severe kidney and liver diseases over many years. “For me, transplantation medicine begins with the question of how we can protect an organ for as long as possible,” he says. When transplantation becomes necessary, young patients benefit from a structured care program, as is already firmly established at Heidelberg University Hospital for kidney transplantation. Together with the team from the Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery at Heidelberg University Hospital, Professor Oh plans to establish a comprehensive living-donor transplantation program, with a particular focus on innovative approaches, including minimally invasive surgical techniques.
Professor Oh brings the expertise required to establish the transplantation program from his work in Hamburg. At University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, he headed the Division of Pediatric Transplantation from 2019 and served as head of pediatric kidney and liver transplantation within the transplant center. “Pediatric liver transplantation is among the most demanding areas of transplantation medicine. In addition to specialized transplant surgery, it requires an experienced multidisciplinary team of medical and nursing professionals,” says Oh.
Oh also aims to work closely with the Department of Nephrology at Heidelberg University Hospital, particularly on rare kidney diseases, kidney transplantation and the transition of chronically ill adolescents into adult care. A structured transition process is intended to ensure continuity of care beyond adolescence.
Beyond medical treatment, Professor Oh also considers the needs of the entire family. “There are excellent psychosocial support services here to help children and their families cope with often chronic diseases and the challenges they bring,” he says. He considers established parent initiatives, self-help groups, foundations and other community partners an important pillar of care. Professor Oh intends to further strengthen collaboration with them.
Oh also sees significant opportunities in the Heidelberg-Mannheim University Hospital Alliance: “I very much look forward to working with our colleagues at the Mannheim site. Together, we can build on the strengths of both sites to provide the best possible care for children and their families across the Rhine-Neckar region.”
Immune monitoring and prevention of long-term damage
Oh’s research to date has been rooted primarily in pediatric nephrology. He has studied the molecular causes and treatment of specific kidney diseases characterized by excessive protein loss in the urine, a condition known as proteinuria. He has also served for several years on the scientific advisory board of the CERTAIN Consortium, an international network dedicated to improving care and long-term follow-up for children and adolescents who have undergone kidney transplantation.
In Heidelberg, Oh plans to place a stronger emphasis on immunological research. To this end, he intends to establish a clinical and scientific program for immune monitoring before, during and after organ transplantation.
Another focus of his research will be the long-term consequences of chronic kidney and liver diseases. He is particularly interested in understanding when inflammatory processes begin in childhood and which factors influence disease progression. He also plans to investigate the role of puberty in kidney disease. The findings are intended to help improve the treatment and long-term care of affected children.
Continuing his award-winning teaching in Heidelberg
For his teaching achievements, Oh was repeatedly honored with the “Teacher of the Year” Award by the medical faculty in Hamburg. He plans to continue his successful teaching activities in Heidelberg, building on modern teaching methods and established structures.
About Professor Jun Oh
Jun Oh, born in Heidelberg in 1968, studied medicine at Heidelberg University and in London, San Diego and Tokyo. After completing his doctorate at Heidelberg University Children’s Hospital, he conducted research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York from 2002 to 2004 as a fellow funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). Following further clinical appointments in Heidelberg and Düsseldorf, he joined University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in 2010, where he completed his habilitation in 2011. Since 2024, Oh has served as spokesperson for the Working Group on Organ Transplantation in Children and Adolescents of the German Transplantation Society. In 2024, he received the Basic Research Award of the German Society for Pediatric Nephrology for a study on proteinuria.
Professor Dr. Jun Oh
Copyright: Heidelberg University Hospital
Merkmale dieser Pressemitteilung:
Journalisten, Studierende, Wissenschaftler
Medizin
überregional
Personalia
Englisch
Sie können Suchbegriffe mit und, oder und / oder nicht verknüpfen, z. B. Philo nicht logie.
Verknüpfungen können Sie mit Klammern voneinander trennen, z. B. (Philo nicht logie) oder (Psycho und logie).
Zusammenhängende Worte werden als Wortgruppe gesucht, wenn Sie sie in Anführungsstriche setzen, z. B. „Bundesrepublik Deutschland“.
Die Erweiterte Suche können Sie auch nutzen, ohne Suchbegriffe einzugeben. Sie orientiert sich dann an den Kriterien, die Sie ausgewählt haben (z. B. nach dem Land oder dem Sachgebiet).
Haben Sie in einer Kategorie kein Kriterium ausgewählt, wird die gesamte Kategorie durchsucht (z.B. alle Sachgebiete oder alle Länder).
