Manfred Boehm, M.D.

The Laboratory of Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine has established the Patient-Centered Vascular Translational Program to conduct research on clinically relevant questions focused on vascular injury, remodeling and repair, and to translate research findings into the development of new therapeutic strategies.

The aims of the Vascular Translational Program align with the principles of precision medicine, investigating how individual variations in genes, environment, and lifestyle contribute to vascular disease. This program was designed to link high-throughput sequencing data with molecular disease mechanisms to facilitate the development of targeted therapies and through this program, we have already successfully identified the genetic cause and/or underlying mechanism of a variety of rare diseases. We are particularly interested in investigating the mechanisms of vascular remodeling triggered by injury or other perturbations such as dysregulated homeostasis, inflammation, calcification or endothelial dysfunction. We believe that improving our understanding of these processes will help us find solutions for disease mitigation and restoring the balance of the relevant biological processes.

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Manfred Boehm, M.D., is Chief of the Translational Vascular Medicine Branch and a Senior Investigator at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institutes of Health (NIH). He received his M.D. in 1993 from the University of Heidelberg/Free University of Berlin and completed residency training in internal medicine at the Franz Volhard Clinic in Berlin. He subsequently conducted research at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine and the University of Michigan before joining NHLBI as a research fellow in 1999. He became an Investigator in 2003, a Senior Investigator in 2012, and Branch Chief in 2018.

Dr. Boehm is a physician-scientist specializing in translational vascular medicine, with a research program that integrates human genetics, vascular biology, immunology, stem cell biology, and clinical investigation. A major focus of his work has been the discovery and characterization of rare vascular and immunovascular diseases and the translation of these discoveries from human genetics through mechanistic studies to therapeutic intervention. His collaborative work helped define CD73 deficiency (ACDC), deficiency of adenosine deaminase 2 (DADA2), STING-associated vasculopathy (SAVI), and, more recently, Lyn kinase–associated vasculitis as distinct human diseases.

His broader research has advanced understanding of vascular inflammation, calcification, endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition, cerebrovascular disease, and regenerative cardiovascular medicine. His work extends from disease discovery and mechanistic investigation to clinical studies, including NIH natural-history and disease-discovery protocols and mechanism-driven therapeutic interventions.

Dr. Boehm has also developed research infrastructure for patients with rare and undiagnosed vascular disorders, including the NIH Vascular Diagnostic Center, for which he received an NIH Director’s Award in 2023. His other honors include NHLBI awards for translational research and the Mark A. Creager Prize for Research Excellence in 2025.

As Chief of the Translational Vascular Medicine Branch, Dr. Boehm leads a multidisciplinary program focused on understanding vascular disease mechanisms and translating genomic, molecular, cellular, and clinical discoveries into improved diagnosis and treatment for patients with rare and common vascular diseases.

• NHLBI Orloff Award 2015: Manfred Boehm