Education and Training
Olaf Sommerburg is head of the Division of Paediatric Pneumology & Allergology and the Cystic Fibrosis Centre at the Children’s Hospital of the Heidelberg University Hospital. After studying medicine in Moscow and Berlin, he completed his doctorate at the Charité, the medical faculty of the Humboldt University in Berlin. He completed his specialist training in Berlin, Heidelberg and Ulm, where he also completed his habilitation in 2005. Since 2005 he has been back in Heidelberg.
Expertise
Olaf Sommerburg is Pediatric Pneumologist, Allergist and Infectiologist. He is a member of the screening commission of the The German Society of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. In addition, he is a member of the Neonatal Screening Working Group of the European Cystic Fibrosis Society and the Newborn Screening Project Group of the Advisory Board for Therapy Promotion and Quality of the Mukoviszidose e.V., the German Cystic Fibrosis Association. He was awarded the Adolf-Windorfer-Prize in 2016 and the Meinhard-von-Pfaundler-Prize in 2019 for his commitment in introducing cystic fibrosis screening in Germany.
- Evaluation of Newborn Screening on Cystic Fibrosis
- Observational studies on the course of lung disease in children with cystic fibrosis
- Observational and interventional studies on the use of highly effective CFTR modulators in cystic fibrosis
Cystic Fibrosis (CF)
- Sommerburg O, Wielpütz MO, Trame JP, Wuennemann F, Opdazaite E, Stahl M, Puderbach MU, Kopp-Schneider A, Fritzsching E, Kauczor HU, Baumann I, Mall MA, Eichinger M. Magnetic Resonance Imaging Detects Chronic Rhinosinusitis in Infants and Preschool Children With Cystic Fibrosis. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2020 Jun;17(6):714-723. doi: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.201910-777OC.
- Konietzke P, Mueller J, Wuennemann F, Wagner WL, Schenk JP, Alrajab A, Kauczor HU, Stahl M, Mall MA, Wielpütz MO, Sommerburg O. The Value of Chest Magnetic Resonance Imaging Compared to Chest Radiographs With and Without Additional Lung Ultrasound in Children With Complicated Pneumonia. PLoS One. 2020 Mar 19;15(3):e0230252. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0230252.
- Sommerburg O, Helling-Bakki A, Alrajab A, Schenk JP, Springer W, Mall MA, Loukanov T, Eichhorn JG. Assessment of Suspected Vascular Rings and Slings and/or Airway Pathologies Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging Rather Than Computed Tomography. Respiration. 2019;97(2):108-118. doi: 10.1159/000492080
- Sommerburg O, Hammermann J, Lindner M, Stahl M, Muckenthaler M, Kohlmueller D, Happich M, Kulozik AE, Stopsack M, Gahr M, Hoffmann GF, Mall MA. Five Years of Experience With Biochemical Cystic Fibrosis Newborn Screening Based on IRT/PAP in Germany. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2015 Jul;50(7):655-64. doi: 10.1002/ppul.23190.
- Sommerburg O, Krulisova V, Hammermann J, Lindner M, Stahl M, Muckenthaler M, Kohlmueller D, Happich M, Kulozik AE, Votava F, Balascakova M, Skalicka V, Stopsack M, Gahr M, Macek M Jr, Mall MA, Hoffmann GF. Comparison of Different IRT-PAP Protocols to Screen Newborns for Cystic Fibrosis in Three Central European Populations. J Cyst Fibros. 2014 Jan;13(1):15-23. doi: 10.1016/j.jcf.2013.06.003.
Dr. med. Yin Yu | Clinician Scientist |
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Dr. med. Sumathy Jeyaweerasinkam | Clinician Scientist |
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Jaehi Chung | Medical doctoral student |
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Lung Research - Projects
- Evaluation of Newborn Screening on Cystic Fibrosis
Newborn screening for cystic fibrosis (CF) was introduced in Germany in 2016. Parts of the screening protocol used were developed in Heidelberg, but have not yet been fully evaluated in its current use. Current investigations include the performance of the screening protocol, variables influencing the biochemical screening parameters used and the effectiveness of tracking newborns screened positive for CF. - Observational studies on the course of lung disease in children with cystic fibrosis
In these multicenter studies, the course of clinical parameters describing the changes in the airways is investigated. This particularly involves the parameters of lung function (spirometry, body plethysmography, gas leaching procedures) and lung morphology (MRI). Furthermore, the role of changes in the paranasal sinuses in cystic fibrosis is investigated. In parallel, biomaterials (DNA, RNA, serum, microbiology of respiratory samples) are analysed and evaluated to identify different risk factors for CF progression in the airways in both children and adult CF patients. The progression and the clinical parameters mentioned above will be followed longitudinally over a long period of time. - Observational and interventional studies on the use of highly effective CFTR modulators in cystic fibrosis
To describe the effectiveness of new CFTR modulators, sensitive biomarkers for measuring CFTR activity (Intestinal Current Measurement - ICM, nasal Potential Difference - nPD) are combined with the evaluation of clinical outcome parameters. We recruit CF patients treated with CFTR modulators for the first time as well as CF patients switched from first generation CFTR modulators to next generation CFTR modulators. The aim is to evaluate the degree of restoration of CFTR function achieved by different modulator drugs and to compare these results with the clinical improvements in lung morphology and lung function.