Christian Benden

Christian Benden is a board-certified Pediatrician and Paediatric Pulmonologist who trained in Hannover, DE, and in London, UK. He completed a fellowship in pediatric lung transplantation at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, UK, in 2005, and he additionally trained in adult lung transplantation at the University Hospital in Zurich, CH, thereafter. Since 2024, Prof. Benden has served as Medical Director of the Lung Transplant Program at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, US. He is a former Lung Transplant Medical Director, CF Centre Director, and Chairman of the Transplant Centre of the University Hospital Zurich, CH. Since 2018, Christian Benden has been Adjunct Professor of Pulmonology/Transplant Medicine at the University of Zurich. He was a Lecturer in Health Management at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Applied Sciences in Wismar, DE, from 2020 to 2024. Since 2024, Christian Benden is Lecturer in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, US. 

For several years, Prof. Benden has served the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) in multiple roles and honorary positions, such as Pediatric Council Chair, Associate Medical Director of the ISHLT Thoracic Transplant Registry, Scientific Program Chair, Board Member, Secretary of the Board of Directors, and Executive Committee Member. Prof. Benden served as the 40th ISHLT President during 2024–2025. In 2026, he was granted the designation of Fellow of ISHLT (ISHLTF), one of the Society’s highest honors, acknowledging significant and sustained contributions to the field of cardiothoracic disease, as well as to the growth, mission, and global impact of ISHLT. In 2025, Prof. Benden received the Fellow of ERS (FERS) award, recognizing excellence within the European Respiratory Society (ERS) membership of more than 35,000 respiratory clinicians, scientists, and allied healthcare professionals by acknowledging outstanding contributions in research, education, and clinical leadership. Christian Benden is Deputy Editor of JHLT Open, Associate Editor of Clinical Transplantation, and a former Editorial Board Member of The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation. 

Prof. Benden’s research interests include all aspects of pediatric lung transplantation, chronic lung allograft dysfunction, and advanced cystic fibrosis lung disease. He has published more than 200 articles in peer-reviewed international medical journals and contributed chapters to multiple textbooks, which places him among the top 1% of experts in lung transplantation worldwide (h-index 55). Prof. Benden is frequently invited as speaker at national and international scientific meetings, as he is an internationally renowned expert in the field of pediatric lung transplantation.