Lebenslauf / Biosketch

Univ. Prof. Dr. med. Felix Eckstein
Research Program for Musculoskeletal Imaging,
Center for Anatomy and Cell Biology &
Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Arthritis and Rehabilitation (LBIAR)
Paracelsus Medical University (PMU)
Strubergasse 13,
5020 Salzburg,
Austria

 Current Position
Professor and Head of the Research Program for Musculoskeletal Imaging at the Center for Anatomy and Cell Biology and the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Arthritis and Rehabilitation (LBIAR) at Paracelsus Medical University (PMU), Salzburg, Austria

Role in the research group
Felix Eckstein spearheads the groups scientific strategy and leads “Medical Affairs” as well as scientific communication and dissemination.

Additional Affiliations
Chief Medical Officer at Chondrometrics GmbH, Freilassing, Germany

Expertise Summary
Felix Eckstein is an anatomist and musculoskeletal imaging scientist with a focus on quantitative MRI of articular tissues. His research is dedicated to the methodological standardization and qualification of imaging biomarkers as surrogate endpoints for clinical trials of disease modifying osteoarthritis interventions. He leads the clinical validation of fully automated analysis using AI- and deep learning-based technology.

Education and Training

· Scholarship (DAAD) for Clinical Studies (3rd year), Bristol University, UK (1987 – 1988)

· Doctoral Thesis, Institute of Anatomy, University of Innsbruck, Austria (1988 – 1989)

· Surgery and Neurology Training (Practical Year), Paris and Montpellier, France (1990)

· MD Degree (Dr. med), Universities of Freiburg and Heidelberg, Germany (1991)

· Habilitation (Dr. med. habil), Institute of Anatomy, LMU Munich, Germany (1997)

Key Academic Appointments & Professional Experience

· Postdoc: Institute of Anatomy, LMU Munich, Germany (1991 – 1993; 1995 – 2003)

· Postdoc: Institute Diagnostic Imaging, LMU München, Munich, Germany (1993 – 1995)

· Appointment: Professor and Chair, Institute of Anatomy, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Austria (2004 – 2019)

· Appointment: Professor and Chair, Institute of Anatomy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria; Declined (2012)

· Associate Dean of Medicine, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria and Nürnberg, Germany (2024 – 2019): Reform and set-up of the Medical Curriculum

· Appointment: Research Professor, Research Program for Musculoskeletal Imaging, Center of Anatomy and Cell Biology, PMU Salzburg (since 2019)

Scientific Leadership, Honors and Awards

· Young Investigator Award: Int. Soc. of Biomechanics Congress XIV, Paris, France (1993)

· Board Member: DGfB / German Society of Biomechanics (2000 – 2005)

· President: DGfB / German Society of Biomechanics (2002 – 2003)

· Organizer: 3rd Annual Meeting, German Society of Biomechanics, Munich (2003)

· Secretary General: Osteoarthritis Research Society International [OARSI] (2005 – 2006)

· Organizer: 6th International Symposium on Bone Architecture and the Competence of Bone and Joints”, Salzburg, Austria (2005)

· Board Member and Head: of the Outreach Committee, OARSI (2005 – 2009)

· Organizer: 1st, 5th, and 14th International Workshop on Osteoarthritis Imaging (IWOAI) in Ainring, (2007) and Salzburg (2011 and 2020)

· Clinical Research Award, OARSI, Brussels (2010)

· Member, German National Academy of Sciences, Leopoldina (since 2013)

· Organizer:109th Annual Meeting of the Anatomical Society, Salzburg (2014)

· Group Research Award, German Academy of Rheumatic Diseases, Berlin (2015)

· Board Member, International Society of Osteoarthritis Imaging (ISOAI) (2019 – 2025)

· Austrian Ambassador, Osteoarthritis Research Society International (2024 – 2025)

· Organizer: LBIAR Retreat, Salzburg (2025)

· Organizer: Leopoldina (German Academy of Science) Symposium “Skeletal Interfaces in Health and Disease”, Salzburg (2025)

Selected Publications or Outputs

1. Eckstein F, et al. Recent Advances in Osteoarthritis Imaging–the Osteoarthritis Initiative (Review). Nat Rev Rheumatol [NRR];8:622-30 (2012).

2. Hochberg MC, … Eckstein F. Effect of Intra-Articular Sprifermin vs Placebo on Femorotibial Joint Cartilage Thickness in Patients with Osteoarthritis: The FORWARD Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA 8;322:1360-70 (2019)

3. Eckstein F, et al. Long-Term Structural and Symptomatic Effects of Intra-Articular Sprifermin in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis: 5-Year Results from the FORWARD Study. Ann Rheum Dis; 80:1062-69 (2021)

4. : Eckstein F, Mobasheri A, Boesen MP. Multifaceted imaging strategies for clinical trials of knee osteoarthritis-a tightly interlinked value and precision chain. Skeletal Radiol. 2025 Sep;54(9):1789-1802.

5. Birmingham TB, et al.. High tibial osteotomy for medial compartment knee osteoarthritis : A randomized trial with parallel preference prm. Ann Intern Med. 2025 Sep;178(9):1238-1248.

Other

· Scholarship: German Research Foundation (DFG) for a visiting research fellow-ship at Pennsylvania State University (Prof. C. Jacobs, Hershey, PA, USA (1995)

· Business start-up / company incorportaton: Chondrometrics GmbH, with the purpose to translate academic imaging biomarker science into clinical trial solutions (2003).

· Initiator: Workshop on “Consensus for a Nomenclature for Quantitative MRI-Based Endpoints in Osteoarthritis”, Chicago, USA & First Author of the Proposal published in Osteoarthritis Cartilage https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16730462/ (2005/06)

· Editorial Board / Associate Editor: Annals of Anatomy, Osteoarthritis Imaging (OSTIMA), Osteoarthritis Cartilage Open