Professor Wolfgang Högler MD FRCPCH

• Fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health 2009
• Paediatric Endocrinologist & Diabetologist 2007
• Diploma in Clinical Trial Investigation 2005
• Doctor of Science (DSc) 2005
• MD Medicine 1995

Professor Högler qualified in Medicine from the University of Innsbruck, Austria in 1995. Following core paediatric training at the Department of Paediatrics at the Medical University Innsbruck, he embarked on a 2.5 year clinical research fellowship at the Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, Australia. The fellowship, which investigated the development of bone size and strength in children, was hosted by Professor Chris Cowell and supported by the prestigious Erwin Schrödinger program of the Austrian Research Council (FWF).

On his return to Innsbruck, he was appointed Associate Professor of Paediatrics in 2005 and qualified as a paediatric endocrinologist in 2007, before joining Birmingham Children’s Hospital as a consultant, and the University of Birmingham as a Senior Lecturer.

Under his lead, the Department of Endocrinology & Diabetes at Birmingham Children’s Hospital developed into the largest such unit in the UK. His strong research interest in bone and growth disorders led him up the honorary academic route until his appointment Chair of Paediatrics at the Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria in 2018. He is an active member of several professional organisations and holds various international leadership positions in paediatric endocrinology.

Undergraduate

Paediatrics (Johannes Kepler University Linz)

Postgraduate

National and International Lectures

• PhD Students
• Master Students
• International Fellows

Professor Högler’s research focusses on mechanism of disease and patient benefit, particularly improved diagnosis and new treatments for children with bone and growth disorders, as well as prevention of disease.

Bone and Mineralisation

Wolfgang’s group is investigating the disease mechanisms and the structural bone phenotype of disorders affecting bone fragility and mineralisation, through an established international research network. Through multicentre treatment studies, he is offering children with rare diseases promising new treatments, e.g. hypophosphatasia (asfotase alfa), hypophosphataemic rickets (FGF23 antibody), osteogenesis imperfecta, a.o.

One main research focus is the association between calcium, vitamin D, PTH and bone mineralisation, in particular at what level of calcium deprivation mineralisation begins to fail. His team is investigating ways how to diagnose osteomalacia (poor bone mineralisation) biochemically. Current projects include assessment of rickets prevention programs and public health policies worldwide.

Growth

Wolfgang’s other research focus is short stature caused by defects in the growth hormone – IGF-1 axis. In a multinational collaboration, he has described gene dosage effects and the phenotype of a children and adults with mutations in the IGFALS gene, and first reported the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic response of children with ALS deficiency to treatment with recombinant IGF-1. His current work includes assessing the reversibility of isolated GH deficiency.

Research groups and centres

• Kepleruniversitätsklinikum
• Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Osteology, Vienna, Austria 
• National Institute of Health, Bethesda, USA
• Shriners Hospital for Children, Montreal, Canada
• Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, USA 
• Department of Paediatrics, Medical University Innsbruck, Austria
• ESPE Working Group Bone & Growth 

• Steering Committee and POC Member, ICCBH
• POC Member, ESPE
• Consensus Lead and Conference Chairman, Global Consensus on Prevention and Management of Rickets, 2014
• Task Force Member for the ISCD (International Society of Clinical Densitometry) on Pediatric Position Papers 2007, 2013, 2019
• Co-Chair, Hypophosphatasia Global Registry
• Chair of Endocrine Branch, IPOKRaTES Foundation www.ipokrates.info   Organisation of Postgraduate Paediatric Seminars
• Chair, POC, 7^th ICCBH, Salzburg, Austria, 2015
• Chair, ESPE Working Group “Bone & Growth Plate” 2010-2014
• External Expert for the Paediatric Committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Paediatric Bone Disease
• Senior Clinical Specialist, Prince Court Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Hospital Project Management, invited by the Medical University Vienna International (MUVI), 7-10/2006
• Advisory Board Member for several pharmaceutical companies in the pediatric bone/growth research field