Rafael Kramann is Professor of Medicine and Chairman of the Deparment of Medicine 2 (Nephrology, Rheumatology, Immunology and Hypertension) he is further founding Director of the Institute of Experimental Medicine and Systems Biology and the Center of Phase Transition in Chronic Disease at RWTH Aachen, Germany. He further directs the Laboratory of Translational Kidney and Cardiovascular Research at the Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, NL. He received his MD in cardiology at RWTH Aachen University in 2007, a PhD in internal medicine at Erasmus MC, Rotterdam and postdoctoral training at Brigham and Women´s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston MA. His basic and translational research focuses on understanding chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular diseases and organ fibrosis (www.kramannlab.com).