Brief CV's

Horst Fischer, Ph.D.; Scientist

Horst Fischer joined Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) in 1997 and successfully established an airway disease research group. He is the institutional expert on ion transport across cell membranes and epithelial biology, and is known for his seminal work on drug discovery in cystic fibrosis and regulation of ion transport in the airway epithelium. Dr Fischer holds an additional staff appointment at the University of California at Davis, Department of Human Physiology, and serves on the editorial board of the American Journal of Physiology Cell Physiology. Dr Fischer came to CHORI from the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Medical School, and before that from the University of California at Berkeley, where he initiated key developments of cystic fibrosis research. Since receiving his Ph.D. degree from the University of Stuttgart, Germany, in 1989, Dr Fischer has successfully developed his line of research of the role of epithelial ion transport in cystic fibrosis airway disease.

Beate Illek, Ph.D.; Associate Staff Scientist

Beate Illek joined CHORI in 1997, after she was already well-known for her
work on the effect of natural compounds on salt and water transport across
intestinal epithelia, and the use of novel cell culture techniques in
epithelial biology . At CHORI she applied her expertise to lung biology and
pathology. She is an active member of the Nutrition and Metabolism Center
at CHORI, and her current scientific focus is on the investigation of
naturally occurring antioxidants in the protection against oxidative stress
in lung diseases. Before joining CHORI, Dr Illek was a Postdoctoral Fellow
at the Medical School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and before that she did
doctoral work at UC Berkeley and the Free University Berlin, Germany.