Gregor Wenning

Gregor K. Wenning

Gregor Karl Wenning (born 21 March 1964 in Horstmar, Westfalia) is a German neurologist best known for his clinical and scientific work in Parkinson's disease and atypical Parkinsonian disorders, particularly multiple system atrophy (MSA). In 2006 he was appointed Professor and Head of the Division of Clinical Neurobiology at the Medical University Innsbruck.

Early life and education

Gregor K. Wenning was born on 21 March 1964 to Karl-Heinz Wenning, a school teacher, and Elisabeth Wenning (née Terwort), a secretary. One of his brothers is the German church musician and composer Martin Wenning.

After completing preparatory school, he studied Medicine (1983-1990) at the Wilhelms University in Muenster (Westphalia) as a scholarship holder of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes. He completed his studies in 1991 with a thesis on motor system degeneration and obtained his doctorate "summa cum laude".

From 1992 to 1994, he obtained a research scholarship by the UK Parkinson`s Disease Society and became Clinical Research Fellow and PhD Student at the Institute of Neurology, (Queen Square) in London, where he conducted work on the experimental, clinical and neuropathological aspects of multiple system atrophy (MSA). In January 1996, he completed the MSA research doctorate at the University in London, obtaining the title of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). The title of his thesis was "A clinico-pathological and animal experimental study of multiple system atrophy.".

Between 1997 and 1999, he completed his training to become a specialist in neurology and psychiatry at the Innsbruck University Clinic. He subsequently established an internationally successful MSA research program at the Department for Neurology in Innsbruck. In 1999, he was appointed associate professor of neurology at Innsbruck University's Faculty of Medicine.

In 2006, he was appointed Professor of Clinical Neurobiology and chief of the Division of Neurobiology at the University Department of Neurology, Medical University of Innsbruck. In 2007, he was awarded the title MSc "Master of Health Economics" by the Private University for Health Services, Medical Informatics and Technology (UMIT), Hall in Tirol. In 2018 Wenning was appointed director of the Dysautonomia Center at the Medical University Innsbruck.

Work

The scientific focus of Wenning’s work centres on the research of atypical parkinsonian syndromes, particularly multiple system atrophy, using experimental,

clinicopathological and therapeutic studies. In addition to caring for patients with Parkinsonian syndromes and dementia, his clinical activities also include the work up and treatment of autonomic disorders. To this end one of Austria's first tilt table laboratories for diagnosing neurocirculatory disturbances was established in 2000.

His contributions have helped to overcome the difficulties associated with the diagnostic distinction of MSA and PD patients. The process of differentiating these diseases, which sometimes feature very similar symptoms, has been significantly improved with the help of neuroimaging tools.

As part of his laboratory work, Wenning developed numerous experimental models to gain a better understanding of the biological mechanisms of the disease. The first transgenic model for MSA, which combines genetic factors and neurotoxic lesions similar to the way the disease develops in humans, has generated considerable international attention.

As Co-Founding Director and Coordinator of the European MSA Study Group (www.emsa-sg.org), Wenning leads a consortium of 24 MSA centres in Europe and Israel, with the goal of driving forward accurate diagnostic markers and translational therapy research.

In addition to his medical and scientific work, Wenning has also made a name for himself through his philosophical works and treatises, mainly on the teachings of Saint Augustine. He was received in the prima fila by Pope Benedict XVI. in June 2011, presenting a South-Tyrolean Saint Augustine statue and three Augustine works authored by him (Fotografia Felici).

Awards and prizes

• Scholarship - German National Scholarship Foundation, 1983-1990
• Scholarship - UK Parkinson's Disease Society, 1992-1994
• Science Prize - Austrian Parkinson's Disease Society, 1998 (First recipient)
• MSA Research Prize - Oppenheimer Prize, 2004 (First recipient)
• MSA Research Prize - JiePie Schouppe Award, 2014 (First recipient)
• 2016 Inaugural Stephen Myers Lecture, Baltimore, USA
• 2017 Plenary MSA Lecture, AAS Newport Beach, CA, USA
• 2017 Dr Johannes Tuba price of the Tiroler Ärztekammer

Fellowships abroad

• Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, UK (1992–1994)
• Neuroepidemiology Branch, NINDS/NIH, Bethesda, USA (1996)
• Autonomic Function Laboratory, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London, UK (2000)
• Brain Repair Group, School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, UK (07/2004)
• Wallenberg Neuroscience Centre, Section of Restorative Neurology, Lund, Germany (04/2005)
• Western General Hospital, Toronto, Canada (07/2008)

Important publications

• Wenning et al. Brain 1994;117-835-845
• Wenning et al. Ann Neurol 1997,42:95-107
• Wenning et al. Ann Neurol 2008;64:239-46
• Wenning et al. Lancet Neurol 2013;12:264-74
• Fanciulli & Wenning et al. NEJM 2015; 372(3):249-63

• 600 peer reviewed publications
• chapters & books with 30000 citations
• H‐index 88
• >250 invited talks at international conferences and departmental seminars

References

• Division for Clinical Neurobiology, Medical University Innsbruck
• European MSA Study Group
• Movement Disorder Society MSA Study Group

External links

• Division of Clinical Neurobiology
• Facebook page: Prof Gregor K Wenning
• Book: Multiple System Atrophy edited by Gregor K. Wenning and Alessandra Fanciulli
• European Multiple System Atrophy Study Group - Austria
• Pubmed Articles Gregor K. Wenning
• The SPIN Consortium
• Current Opinion in Neurology: August 2005 - Volume 18 - Issue 4 - p i
• SFB F44
• Medical University Innsbruck
• Leopold-Franzens University Innsbruck
• EURAC
• Free University of Bozen-Bolzano
• UMIT