Nina Kumowski, MD, is a physician-scientist and Principal Investigator in the Center for Inflammation Imaging and the Center for Systems Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, where she also serves as an Instructor in Matthias Nahrendorf’s Lab. Dr. Kumowski’s research lies at the intersection of cardiology, immunology, and electrophysiology, with a central focus on how immune cells drive cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death.

Trained in internal medicine and cardiology in Germany, Dr. Kumowski brings a strong clinical foundation to her mechanistic research in cardio-immunology. Her work has revealed previously unrecognized roles for innate and adaptive immune cells in electrical instability of the heart. She is first author of a Science (2025) study demonstrating that neutrophil-derived resistin-like molecule γ disrupts cardiomyocyte membranes to promote ventricular arrhythmias, and has contributed to landmark studies defining immune mechanisms in atrial fibrillation and inflammatory cardiomyopathies (Science, Nature Cardiovascular Research, Circulation). Using advanced mouse models, high-resolution inflammation imaging, and systems-level approaches, her laboratory aims to uncover immune-driven pathways that can be therapeutically targeted to prevent life-threatening arrhythmias. Dr. Kumowski is committed to advancing fundamental discovery in cardio-immunology and bridging mechanistic insights to translational understanding of cardiovascular disease, laying the groundwork for therapeutic innovation.