Manfred Hecking, MD, PhD is an associate professor for internal medicine at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria. Born in Wiesbaden, Germany, he spent two years as an undergraduate at the University of California at San Diego’s Revelle College after visiting the United States as a foreign exchange student. He then went on to study music and medicine in Berlin, auditioned and became a full member of the Munich Philharmonic and of the Vienna Philharmonic (until 2006), before starting to work as a medical doctor. Having completed a summa cum laude doctoral thesis at the Charité, his research career developed under the leadership of Maria Sibilia and Marcus Säemann, who inspired him to obtain a degree in Internal Medicine/Nephrology at the Medical University of Vienna. His clinical research focus is on post-transplant diabetes mellitus and kidney replacement therapy in general, with particular interests in electrolytes and fluid management in hemodialysis patients, and importantly, their gender-specific differences. Several of his publications have received national and international awards within the Nephrological community. Dr. Hecking is also engaged in a partnership with Nephrologists from the University of Michigan, especially Friedrich K. Port. Funding includes peer-reviewed grants by the National Institutes of Health (NIH; in partnership) and the Austrian Science Foundation.