The CRONIC-PPF Faculty

	Gregor GORKIEWICZ Assoc. Prof. Dr. med. univ. (MD) Gut–lung axis metabolic signaling in development of progressive pulmonary fibrosis
Professor for Medical Microbiome Research, Vice chair of the Institute of Pathology Institute of Pathology, Medical University of Graz, Neue Stiftingtalstraße 6, 8010 Graz Phone: +43-316-385 71743, ✉ e-mail WWW: Forschungsportal Med Uni Graz ORCID: 0000-0003-1149-4782 PubMed: PubMed (nih.gov)
• Profile      • Curriculum vitae     • Publications

Gregor Gorkiewicz is a pathologist focusing on microbiome in health promotion and disease development. He specialized in gastrointestinal, pulmonary and infectious disease pathology, as well as tumor genetics with a focus on molecular diagnostic methods. He serves as a PI in the Cluster of Excellence "Microbiomes drive Planetary Health" [↗] and as an academic editor for the journal Microbiome.

Project

Research interests

1. We have described the molecular pathology of acute lung injury in Covid-19 and have revealed the role of immune impairment in the lung for the development of secondary infections as a major sequel of Covid-19. Lung pathology and lung microbiome changes were discerned in parallel from metagenomics, metatranscriptomics and metaproteomics analyses of lung tissues. (Jandl et al., 2023 [↗]; Gindlhuber et al., 2022 [↗]; Reindl-Schwaighofer et al., 2022 [↗]; Zacharias et al., 2022 [↗]; Fortarezza et al., 2022 [↗]; Wygrecka M et al., 2021 [↗]; Birnhuber et al., 2021 [↗])
2. Established the workflows and frameworks for fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in Graz, wherein our group is internationally renowned and we currently try to define the "active ingredients" of FMT to develop new "biotherapies" to replace FMT in future. (Blesl et al., 2024 [↗]; Podlesny et al., 2022 [↗]; Spindelböck et al., 2021 [↗]; Kump et al., 2018 [↗]; Wurm et al., 2017 [↗]; Spindelboeck et al., 2017 [↗]; Kump et al., 2013 [↗])
3. Delineated the molecular biology of enterotoxin action of the pathobiont Klebsiella oxytoca in the human gut leading to antibiotic-associated colitis, acting as a genotoxin in colonocytes and driving antibiotic resistance development of the gut microbiota. (Pöltl et al., 2023 [↗]; Kienesberger et al., 2022 [↗]; Greimel et al., 2022 [↗]; Hering et al., 2019 [↗]; Unterhauser et al., 2019 [↗]; Schneditz et al., 2014 [↗]; Herzog et al., 2014 [↗]; Joainig et al., 2014 [↗]; Högenauer et al., 2006 [↗])

03.04.2026 CRONIC-PPF · Doctoral Programme “Clinical & Research Oriented Network for Innovative Classification of Progressive Pulmonary Fibrosis”