A Letter from Wolfgang Jelkmann

A Letter from Wolfgang Jelkmann, MD, to the APS Distinguished Physiologists, March 2019

“Thank you for your kind e-mail on the occasion of my 70th birthday, recalling my activity as a physiologist.

I was born in Bremen, Germany, in 1949. My parents were practicing physicians, and I was dedicated to become a surgeon. I graduated at the Medical School of Hannover, Germany, in 1973. After receiving my doctorate for studies on insulin infusion, I worked as a postdoctoral fellow at university institutes in clinical biochemistry in Hannover, physiology in Regensburg, and pharmacology in New Orleans (Tulane). In 1980, I habilitated in physiology at the University of Regensburg. In 1984, I became a group leader at the Medical School of Luebeck, and in 1990 Professor of Physiology at the University of Bonn. From 1995 to 2017, I served as Professor and Director of the Institute of Physiology of the University of Luebeck.

My scientific interests have focused on gas transport in the blood, adaptation to tissue hypoxia and hemopoietic growth factors. I have authored over 150 original publications and over 130 review articles/book chapters, and edited five books. I have been on the editorial board of numerous journals, including f. e. Am J Hematol, Exp Hematol, J Interfer Cytokine Res and PlosOne.

I was Dean of the Medical Faculty in Luebeck, Spokesman of a Research Training Group of the German Research Society (DFG), Member of the regional Animal Protection Commission, Advisory Board member of the Federal Institute for Medical and Pharmaceutical Examination Questions (IMPP), Advisory Board member for "Medicine, Doping Analysis, Disabled Sports" of the Federal Institute for Sports Science (BISp), and scientific reviewer for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). I served for many years on the Permanent Program Commission of the German Physiological Society (DPG) and in 2016 -2017 as the President of the DPG.

An intriguing question is why I happened to become a physiologist and not a surgeon. It was good luck with my research topic. When I started in the Department of Physiology in Regensburg I still planned to become a “real doctor” and worked at night in a Surgical Hospital. One night in 1987, when patient care was done, I read a paper on erythropoietin (Epo), which I found most fascinating. Promply, I applied for a DFG fellowship in the Department of Pharmacology at Tulane University, which was headed by James W. Fisher, one of the leading experts in the field. Jim Fisher became my mentor and senior friend. Recombinant Epo has become a very beneficial drug.

Back in Regensburg, I successfully extracted erythropoietin (Epo) from renal cortex, a result that refuted the textbook hypothesis proposing kidneys would not synthesize Epo but release the enzyme erythrogenin (analogous to renin-angiotensin). I also developed an immunological assay for Epo, which was most useful for clinical applications. Chronic kidney disease and chronic inflammatory and malignant diseases proved associated with Epo deficiency. Our studies showed that cytokines such as interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor a suppress EPO expression. Unexpectedly, these cytokines activated the hypoxia-inducible transcription factor 1 (HIF-1). This finding was interesting, because HIF-1 controls the expression of many O2-dependent genes (such as for vascular endothelial growth factor VEGF). Thus, eventually my desire to carry out clinically relevant work was satisfied.

In addition to it, my satisfaction as a physiologist has come from teaching medical students, from writing scientific papers and from organizing national and international scientific congresses. Several young scientists worked in my laboratory to obtain their doctoral degree. Some of them have themselves made a career in research and become professors of physiology. This makes me proud.

On retirement, I have stopped laboratory work but still act on scientific boards. F. e., I am a member of the permanent Board of Enquiry on Good Scientific Practice of the University of Luebeck, which investigates cases of suspicion of scientific misconduct. In addition, I am a member of the honorary commission Anti-Doping Testing Program of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA). Here, the focus lies on planning, coordinating and developing doping controls in German elite sports.

Physiology is great. I wish our young colleagues good luck for their future endeavors.”