Biographical summary
Christoph G.S. Nabzdyk, M.D., Dr. med., is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science and a Consultant in the Division of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. His clinical focus is cardiothoracic anesthesiology, critical care medicine, and mechanical circulatory support, including ECMO, Impella, LVAD, and IABP.
Dr. Nabzdyk trained at the Charité — Universitätsmedizin Berlin and completed postdoctoral, residency, and fellowship training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Tufts Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School. He previously served as Director of Biomedical Innovation and Translation and Director of the Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
He serves as Physician Lead for the Department's engagement with external strategic partners, including MedTech and pharmaceutical companies, in coordination with the Mayo Clinic Business Development Office. His research addresses hydrogel bioadhesives, wearable ultrasound monitoring, and point-of-care coagulation technologies, supported by NIH R01 funding as multiple principal investigator. He is a co-founder of SanaHeal, Inc., a hemostatic device company with FDA 510(k) clearance, and holds several patents developed in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Conditions treated
Procedures performed
Interests
- Clinical Interests:
- Cardiothoracic anesthesiology and perioperative management for adult cardiac surgery
- Critical care medicine, with emphasis on the cardiac surgery ICU
- Mechanical circulatory support: ECMO (VA and VV), Impella, LVAD (including HeartMate 3), and IABP
- ECMO cannulation, weaning strategies, and management of ECMO-associated complications (hemorrhage, hypoxemia, RV dysfunction)
- Vasoplegic and septic shock management, including hydroxocobalamin and mechanical circulatory support for refractory shock
- Anticoagulation strategies during ECMO and cardiopulmonary bypass (heparin vs. bivalirudin, tranexamic acid, coagulation monitoring)
- Perioperative transesophageal echocardiography (basic and advanced) and point-of-care ultrasound
- Research Interests:
- Bioadhesive and hydrogel platform technologies for tissue sealing, hemostasis, and organ repair
- Wearable/bioadhesive ultrasound (BAUS) for continuous, non-invasive monitoring of mechanical circulatory support devices (e.g., Impella)
- Bioadhesive epicardial pacing leads for atraumatic cardiac stimulation and monitoring
- Point-of-care microfluidic coagulation testing to predict hemorrhage and guide transfusion in ECMO and cardiac surgery patients
- Hydrogel coatings for cardiovascular devices to reduce thromboembolic and infectious complications
- Anti-Factor Xa monitoring platforms for cardiopulmonary bypass (FINDER, with Baebies, Inc.)
- Outcomes research in ECMO across special populations (obesity, pregnancy, COVID-19, lung transplantation)
- Sepsis-induced cardiomyopathy and vasoplegic syndrome pathophysiology and treatment
- Medical device innovation and translation, including emergency ventilator design (MIT E-Vent) during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Institutional innovation infrastructure: streamlining IP filing, IRB processes, and industry-academic research partnerships
Mayo Clinic locations
Education
- 2019
Fellowship - Cardiothoracic AnesthesiologyMassachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
- 2018
Fellowship - Critical Care MedicineMassachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
- 2017
Resident - Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain ManagementBrigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
- 2014
Postdoctoral Scholar - NIH T-32 Harvard Longwood Vascular Surgery Research Fellowship in the "Tissue Engineering and Wound Healing Laboratory" of Dr. Dennis Orgill, MD, PhDBrigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
- 2013
Resident - Categorical General SurgeryTufts Medical Center, Tufts School of Medicine
- 2011
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship - Vascular SurgeryBeth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School
- 2010
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship - Laboratory for Accelerated Vascular ResearchUniversity of California San Francisco Medical Center
- 2009
Doktor der Medizin - Research Doctorate Defense for German "Dr. med.", "Magna cum laude".Charite University Medicine, Medical College of Humboldt and Free University Berlin
- 2008
MDCharite University Medicine, Medical College of Humboldt and Free University Berlin
- 2007
Research Scholar - Cardiovascular Genetics (Position: part-time)Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics
- 2005
Visiting Scholar - Scholarship from Alliance of Cardiovascular Researchers: Adult adipose tissue derived stem cells for cardiac regeneration.Tulane University, Section of Cardiology and MD Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Pathology
- 2005
Research Scholar - Scholarship from Alliance of Cardiovascular Researchers: Adult adipose tissue derived stem cells for cardiac regeneration.Tulane University, Section of Cardiology
Activities and honors
Awards and honors
- 2026
Teacher of the Year Award
(Voted by the 2025/2026 Class of Critical Care Anesthesia Fellows)Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
- 2026
Critical Care Innovation Incubator Pitch Competition sponsored by MTEC for SanaHealMTEC
- 2025
Doximity Award: Distinction, Top 10% Most Cited Clinician
Doximity
- 2025
Doximity Award: Distinction, Top 10% Most Published Clinician
Doximity
- 2024
Doximity Award: Distinction, Top 10% Most Cited Clinician
Doximity
- 2024
Doximity Award: Distinction, Top 10% Most Published Clinician
Doximity
- 2024
MedTech Innovator (MTI) Execution Award & Virginia Rybski Memorial Award for SanaHealMedTech Innovator
- 2024
1st prize in the Start Award Session for SanaHealiCANX Summit at Davos
- 2023
Doximity Award: Distinction, Top 10% Most Cited Clinician
Doximity
- 2023
Doximity Award: Distinction, Top 10% Most Published Clinician
Doximity
- 2023
Nature Spinoff Prize for Best Startup of the Year in 2023 for SanaHeal
Nature
- 2023
Distinguished Clinician Award, Mayo Clinic Department of AnesthesiologyMayo Clinic
- 2022
Doximity Award: Distinction, Top 10% Most Cited Clinician
Doximity
- 2022
Doximity Award: Distinction, Top 10% Most Published Clinician
Doximity
- 2021
Doximity Award: Distinction, Top 10% Most Mentioned Clinician in Press
Doximity
- 2021
Department of Anesthesiology Mentored Career Development AwardMayo Clinic
- 2020
SanaHeal was Finalist of the 2020 Massachusetts Institute of Technology $100K
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- 2017
Distinguished Resident Award, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain MedicineBrigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
- 2013
Harvard Longwood NIH T-32 Fellowship in Vascular ResearchBrigham and Women's Hospital
- 2011
Young Researcher Prize7th European Symposium of Vascular Biomaterials
- 2006
Cardiology Session WinnerEuropean Student's Conference
- 2005
German Research Foundation ScholarshipMax Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics
- 2005
Alliance of Cardiovascular Researchers ScholarshipMD Anderson Cancer Center
- 2004
Alliance of Cardiovascular Researchers ScholarshipTulane University School of Medicine
Professional memberships
- 2026 - present
MemberAssociation of University Anesthesthesiologists
- 2025
Task Force MemberMass General Brigham
- 2025
Task Force MemberMass General Brigham
- 2025
MemberMass General Brigham
- 2025 - present
MemberSociety of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, Industry Council
- 2025 - present
Ad Hoc AdvisorOctapharma
- 2025 - present
MemberSociety of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, Industry Relations Council
- 2024
MemberMass General Brigham
- 2023
MemberMass General Brigham
- 2023 - present
MemberCHEST
- 2021 - 2023
MemberMayo Clinic Critical Care Research Committee
- 2021 - 2023
MemberMayo Clinic Cardiovascular Surgery APP Professional Development Committee
- 2021 - present
MemberInternational Anesthesia Research Society
- 2020 - 2023
MemberMayo Clinic ECMO Research and Quality Improvement Subcommittee
- 2020
Clinical LeadMassachusetts Institute of Technology - MIT Emergency Ventilator Project (MIT E-Vent)
- 2019 - present
Member & Invited FacultyExtracorporeal Life Support Organization
- 2019 - present
MemberMinnesota Society of Anesthesiologists
- 2019 - 2023
MemberSociety of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, Research Committee
- 2018 - 2022
MemberSociety of Critical Care Medicine, Scientific Review Committee
- 2018 - present
MemberSociety of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists
- 2017 - present
MemberSociety of Critical Care Medicine
- 2016 - 2017
MemberNIH T-35 Selection Committee, Division of Vascular Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School
- 2014 - present
MemberAmerican Society of Anesthesiologists
- 2011 - 2012
MemberAmerican Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
- 2010 - 2011
MemberVascular Applications Collaborative Team
Publications