About
Gerd Utermann is Professor emeritus for Human Genetics. At his core, he is a genetic epidemiologist, and therefore our Institute is very proud that he has found his home with us as Professor emeritus. He was the lead person responsible for the pioneering discoveries and characterizations of the apolipoprotein E polymorphism and the apo(a) size polymorphism. The genetic architecture of both apolipoproteins belongs to the most intensively investigated genetic variants in the medical literature. The detection of apolipoprotein E polymorphism and its impact on plasma lipoprotein concentrations and relation to hyperlipoproteinemia type III was only the start and was followed by many investigations of various clinical endpoints by many research groups throughout the world. With the discovery of the apo(a) size polymorphism he has laid the foundation for the first Mendelian randomization studies and for our understanding that Lp(a) is a causal risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Gerd Utermann is member of the Austrian Academy of Science and the German Academy „Leopoldina“.
Key publications
- Utermann G, Hees M, Steinmetz A: Polymorphism of apolipoprotein E and occurrence of dysbetalipoproteinaemia in man. Nature 269: 604-607, 1977.
- Utermann G, Menzel HJ, Kraft HG, Duba HC, Kemmler HG, Seitz C: Lp(a) glycoprotein phenotypes: inheritance and relation to Lp(a)-lipoprotein concentrations in plasma. J Clin Invest 80: 458-465, 1987.
- Utermann G: The mysteries of lipoprotein(a). Science 246: 904-910, 1989.
- Sandholzer C, Boerwinkle E, Saha N, Tong MC, Utermann G: Apolipoprotein(a) phenotypes, Lp(a) concentration and plasma lipid levels in relation to coronary heart disease in a Chinese population: Evidence for the role of the apo(a) gene in coronary heart disease. J Clin Invest 89: 1040-1046, 1992.
- Sandholzer C, Saha N, Kark JD, Rees A, Jaross W, Dieplinger H, Hoppichler F, Boerwinkle E, Utermann G: Apo(a) isoforms predict risk for coronary heart disease: a study in six populations. Arterioscler Thromb 12: 1214-1226, 1992.
- Kronenberg F, Utermann G: Lipoprotein(a) - resurrected by genetics. J Intern Med 273: 6-30, 2013.