Dr. Bergmeier received his PhD in Molecular Oncology from Witten-Herdecke University in Germany in 2001. For his postdoctoral studies, Dr. Bergmeier joined the laboratory of Dr. Denisa Wagner at Harvard Medical School (HMS). In 2004 he was promoted to Instructor of Pathology at the HMS. During his time there, Dr. Bergmeier studied the molecular mechanisms leading to platelet damage during extended storage and to platelet adhesion at sites of vascular injury. In 2007, he moved to Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia to join the Cardeza Foundation for Hematologic Research as an assistant professor of Medicine. During his time in Philadelphia, he built an externally funded research program that investigates signal transduction pathways critical for platelet function in hemostasis.
In 2011 Dr. Bergmeier moved his research program to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he became an Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics and a member of the McAllister Heart Institute, both in the UNC School of Medicine. His lab identified the small GTPase Rap1 and its regulators as a unique Rheostat for platelet reactivity, both in circulation and at sites of vascular injury. His ongoing work focuses on a better understanding of the Rap1 signaling pathway in platelets and megakaryocytes, and the implementation of his findings for the development of improved anti-platelet therapies.
He received tenure in 2014 and was promoted to full professor with tenure effective August 2, 2019. Since coming to UNC, Dr. Bergmeier has earned numerous awards. In 2013, Dr. Bergmeier received numerous awards, including the Investigator Recognition Award from the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (BACH award), an Established Investigator Award from American Heart Association, the ATVB Special Recognition Award in Thrombosis from the American Heart Association, and an Outstanding Investigator Award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH.