Draft:Burkert Pieske

Professor Dr. med. Burkert Pieske (born in 1961 in Heidelberg, Germany) is a specialist for internal medicine and cardiology and cardiologist, known for his significant scientific contributions to research into heart failure, arrhythmias, and the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. His professional career encompasses both decades of clinical Department of Cardiology at the Medical University of Graz (Austria). From 2014 to 2023, he acted as Director of the Department of Internal Medicine and Cardiology at Campus Virchow Klinikum of Charité University Medicine Berlin, and also as Director and Board Member at the German Heart Center Berlin. Professor Pieske was also an endowed professor of the Berlin Institute of Health.

Life
Pieske was born in Heidelberg in 1961. After his family moved to Munich, he attended elementary school and the Kurt-Huber-Gymnasium in Gräfelfing, where he graduated from high school in 1980 and also completed his civilian service in Munich. He studied medicine at the Technical University of Munich, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and the University of Paris Descartes.

Medical career
Pieske's went from the University of Munich to international research stays in Tokyo, Japan and in Boston, Chicago, and Friday Harbor/University of Washington, USA, eventually leading to positions in medical research and patient care in Germany and Austria.

From 1987 to 1989, Pieske worked scientifically under the supervision of Prof. Erland Erdmann and Prof. Michael Böhm on his dissertation. From 1990 to 1998, he completed his clinical training under the guidance of Prof. Hanjörg Just at the University of Freiburg im Breisgau, specializing in Internal Medicine and Cardiology. In 1997, he became a board-certified specialist in Internal Medicine, and in 1998, he obtained the additional qualification in Cardiology. In the same year, he completed his habilitation in the field of Internal Medicine. Subsequently, from 1998 to 2007, he worked as a senior physician, later as an Associate Professor (APL), deputy clinic director, and managing director of the Center for Internal Medicine at the University Medical Center Göttingen under the leadership of Prof. Gerd Hasenfuß. There, he implemented a new training concept for medical students (Cardiopulmonary Teaching Curriculum) and, on behalf of the board of directors, served as founding managing director of the Institute for Clinical Research (IFS gGmbH) for interdisciplinary professionalization of clinical research.

In 2006, Pieske was offered a chair in cardiology at the University of Magdeburg and concurrently at the Medical University of Graz in Austria. He accepted the latter offer and from 2007, he led the cardiology department there. Funding was secured for the establishment of a Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Heart Failure Research, which was launched in 2011, and together with cardiac surgery and other cardiac disciplines, he helped establish the University Heart Center Graz. Between 2011 and 2013, Pieske served as President of the Austrian Society of Cardiology.

In 2014, Pieske was appointed as a university professor and clinic director at Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, where he led the Department of Internal Medicine with a focus on cardiology at the Campus Virchow-Klinikum. Simultaneously, he became the director of the Department of Internal Medicine and Cardiology at the German Heart Center Berlin (DHZB) and a member of the DHZB board. His positions at the German Heart Center Berlin (DHZB) ended with the merger of the DHZB hospital operations with the cardiovascular medical facilities of Charité on January 1, 2023, forming the German Heart Center of Charité (DHZC)14. At the end of 2023, Pieske left Charité and has since been leading the heart failure subdivision at the cardiology department15 of the University Medicine Rostock, while continuing to work on national and international research projects. Additionally, Prof. Pieske operates a heart institute in Berlin.

Medical research
Pieske has made contributions to basic science in myocardial function, electromechanical coupling, and cellular aspects of arrhythmia development in heart failure. He studied excitation-contraction coupling processes in the failing human heart, the relationship between contractile force and heart rate (force-frequency relationship), and the ionic basis of triggered arrhythmias.

Many of these studies were conducted on perioperatively obtained human heart muscle tissue, enhancing the translatability of the findings to the patient's situation compared to animal experimental data. Translational and clinical research led Pieske to contribute to the development of the current concept of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and to secure a special research area grant from the German Research Foundation at Charité in 2022 (CRC1470).

He has planned and conducted epidemiological studies and clinical phase II and III trials (e.g. beLOVE) in the field of heart failure and atrial fibrillation, serving as Principal Investigator or member of Steering Committees. These include completed trials such as the VICTORIA trial, the PARAGON trial, several studies on physical training in heart failure (including OPTIMEX, Ex-DHF, and Ex-VAD ), and ongoing trials like CABA-HFpEF (ablation in atrial fibrillation), SPIRIT-HF (spironolactone in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction), and FAIR-HF (iron deficiency substitution in heart failure). Many of these studies have been conducted with the support of public funding, such as from the German Center for Cardiovascular Research. The findings from his research have been incorporated into current treatment guidelines, including those of the European Society of Cardiology.

Memberships and functions in scientific societies and associations
Pieske is a member of national and international professional societies and scientific associations, including the German Society of Cardiology, the Austrian Society of Cardiology, the German Society of Internal Medicine, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), the American Heart Association (AHA), the American College of Cardiology (ACC), and the International Society for Heart Research (ISHR). From 2011 to 2023, he served as President of the Austrian Society of Cardiology.

Additionally, he was a board member responsible for basic research in the Heart Failure Association of the ESC from 2008 to 2014. In this role, he organized the Heart Failure Congress 2013 in Lisbon as the congress president. He also served as a member of the International Council of the International Society for Heart Research (ISHR) and organized the World Congress in 2022 in Berlin as the congress president.

Since 2015, he has chaired the Berlin-Brandenburg Society for Cardiovascular Research. From 2021 to 2023, he served as President of the German Association of Cardiology Professors based in Freiburg im Breisgau.

Prizes and awards
Pieske is a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), the American Heart Association (AHA), and the American College of Cardiology (FESC, FAHA, FACC). He has been honoured with this distinction by the International Society for Heart Research (ISHR). In 2021, he received the Franz-Loogen Prize from the German Society of Cardiology for his fundamental research contributions to understanding heart failure. Since 2019, Pieske has been one of the most cited scientists in his field worldwide, as published annually by Clarivate.

Criticism and debate
In November 2022, it was announced that Pieske was terminated from his position at Charité with immediate effect. Initially, he retained his position at DHZB. The dismissal primarily stemmed from allegations of suspected violations of compliance rules. Pieske initiated legal action against this decision. Eventually, the accusations against Pieske were dropped, leading to an amicable departure from Charité by December 31, 2023. This was communicated to Charité employees in September 2023, expressing gratitude to Professor Pieske for his successful tenure as Clinic Director at Charité, with his instrumental role in establishing DHZC being particularly highlighted.

Publications
Pieske has published over 700 scientific papers by the end of 2023. His recent publications include:
 * The VICTORIA echocardiographic substudy; Effect of vericiguat on left ventricular structure and function in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. 2023, doi:10.1002/ejhf.2836.
 * Exercise testing in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: an appraisal through diagnosis, pathophysiology and therapy - A clinical consensus statement of the Heart Failure Association and European Association of Preventive Cardiology of the European Society of Cardiology. Juli 2022, doi:10.1002/ejhf.2601.
 * The PARALLAX Randomized Clinical Trial; Effect of Sacubitril/Valsartan vs Standard Medical Therapies on Plasma NT-proBNP Concentration and Submaximal Exercise Capacity in Patients With Heart Failure and Preserved Ejection Fraction. November 2021, doi:10.1001/jama.2021.18463.
 * Vericiguat in Patients with Heart Failure and Reduced Ejection Fraction. May 2020, doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1915928.