Awards & Appointments 2021

November 2021

Prof. Dr. Christiane Bruns

was awarded honorary membership by the The American College of Surgeons. She received the award for her outstanding achievements in surgery, her international reputation and her outstanding humanitarian services.

Prof. Dr. Christiane Bruns is director of the Clinic for General, Visceral, Tumor and Transplant Surgery and was Principal Investigator of the CMMC-Project:
Relevance of the IL-17 immune response in a mouse model of pancreatic cancer and its modulation with mesenchymal stem cells

October 2021

Dr. Leo Kurian

awarded the BINDER Innovation Prize 2021 for discoveries on the RNA-centric regulatory principles that program cell fate and identity. His research method, which revolves around stem cell-based differentiation models, has been described as particularly innovative.

Dr. Leo Kurian is an associated member of the CECAD Research Center, Principal Investigator of the Institute of Neurophysiology and the two CMMC projects:
A 07 - Early detection and epigenetic rejuvenation strategies for age-associated cardiac dysfunctions in humans
assoc. JRG 01 - Developmental and regenerative RNA biology

September 2021

July 2021

Dr. Dr. Philipp Schommers

has been awarded 1st place in the Natural and Technical Sciences section of the Körber Foundation's German Study Award 2021. The dissertation was written within the framework of the Interdisciplinary Program Molecular Medicine (IPMM) and through the support of the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF). The prize is endowed with 25,000 euros.

Dr. Dr. Philipp Schommers is assistant physician at the Clinic I for Internal Medicine headed by Prof. Dr. Michael Hallek. The described work was performed by Dr. Schommers in the Laboratory for Experimental Immunology under the direction of Prof. Dr. Florian Klein.
Prof. Dr. Florian Klein is Executive Boad Member and Principal Investigator at the CMMC:
assoc. RG 10 - Antibody-mediated therapy and prevention of infectious pathogens

June 2021

Prof. Dr. Maria Leptin

was appointed as director of the European Research Council. Prof. Leptin has a long and successful scientific career. The European Research Council (ERC) is a science-led institution established by the European Commission to fund excellent scientists with groundbreaking and frontier research projects.

Maria Leptin is a German biologist and immunologist. She leads research groups at the Institute of Genetics at the University of Cologne and at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg.

May 2021

Prof. Dr. Rita Schmutzler

has received the Innovation Award of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, which is endowed with 10,000 euros. Prof. Schmutzler has made the care of female tumor patients and their relatives a national and international lighthouse project by founding the German Consortium for Familial Breast and Ovarian Cancer. Through the resulting insights into prevention, early detection, development and therapy of hereditary malignant tumors, the scientist has rendered outstanding services.

Professor Schmutzler is director of the Center for Familial Breast and Ovarian Cancer and among others Principal Investigator of the CMMC project:
assoc. RG 20 - Investigation of the genetic causes of breast and ovarian cancer

Prof. Dr. Silvia von Karstedt

has been appointed as Professor of Dynamics of Cancer and Immune Systems. The professorship is anchored in the Department of Translational Genomics and based at CECAD Research Center. Prof. von Karstedt is considered a renowned expert in the field of cancer cell death mechanisms and communication between cancer cells and the immune system. Von Karstedt is also a board member of the newly founded Mildred Scheel School of Oncology (MSSO) Cologne-Bonn.

Prof. Dr. von Karstedt is Principal Investigator of the CMMC-Project:
A 06 - Elucidation of ferroptosis-inducing therapy (FIT) for the treatment of pancreatic cancer

April 2021

Prof. Dr. Dr. Thomas Schmidt

received the von-Langenbeck-Prize 2021 at the annual congress of the German Society for Surgery (DGCH). The prize is endowed with 10,500 euros. Prof. Schmidt received the award for his work on "Reduction of Liver Metastasis Stiffness Improves Response to Bevacizumab in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer" and the associated special scientific achievement in the field of experimental research with primary patient samples.

Prof. Dr. Dr. Schmidt has been senior consultant and Professor of Oncological Surgery at the Clinic for General, Visceral, Tumor and Transplant Surgery since April 2021 and works under the director Prof. Dr. Christiane Bruns, who was a principal investigator at the CMMC.

Prof. Dr. Gouni-Berthold

head of the study outpatient clinic for lipid metabolism disorders in the Polyclinic for Endocrinology, Diabetology and Preventive Medicine at Cologne University Hospital, has been awarded an abstract prize for clinical lipid research at the annual meeting of the German Society of Cardiology.

Prof. Dr. Gouni-Berthold works under the supervision of  Prof. Dr. Jens Brüning, who is Executive Board Member and Principal Investigator of the CMMC-Project:
C 05 - Role of prepronociceptin (PNOC)-expressing neurons in the development of obesity

Prof. Dr. Stephan Baldus

Director of the Clinic III for Internal Medicine at the Heart Center of the University Hospital Cologne, is the new President of the German Society of Cardiology (DGK). His two-year term of office began following the digital 87th DGK Annual Meeting in mid-April.
During his presidency, the renowned physician intends to devote particular attention to

  • promoting young scientists in cardiology clinics and research
  • developing concepts to increase the proportion of women in leadership positions in cardiovascular medicine
  • supporting the activities of the scientific working groups in the DGK
  • seeking dialogue with political decision-makers to bring the concerns of cardiac patients in Germany into the focus of health policy efforts

"Cardiovascular diseases continue to be the leading cause of death in Germany. Making political decision-makers even more aware of the importance of these diseases is a challenging and motivating task," says Prof. Stephan Baldus.

The German Society of Cardiology - Heart and Circulation Research, based in Düsseldorf, is a non-profit scientific medical society with more than 11,000 members. It is the oldest and largest cardiology society in Europe. Its goal is to promote science in the field of cardiovascular diseases, to organize conferences, to provide education and training for its members, and to develop guidelines.

Prof. Dr. Baldus is Executive Board Member and Principal Investigator at the CMMC:
assoc. RG 01: Inflammatory pathways in ischemia- and chemotherapy-induced heart failure - the role of extracellular vesicles as carriers of leukocyte-derived peroxidases

March 2021

Dr. Phuong-Hien Nguyen | Dr. Johannes Brägelmann | Dr. Sebastian Brähler

the three scientists of the Medical Faculty (Univeristy of Cologne) were awarded with the CMMC Career Advancement Program (CAP) Funding.

The research interest of Dr. Phuong-Hien Nguyen is to gain insights and to better understand the functional relevance and signal transduction network of protein kinases in the tumor microenvironment (TME).  

Dr. Johannes Brägelmann’s research interest focuses on the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of tumor evolution and therapy resistance.

Dr. Sebastian P. Brähler’s research interest focuses on the understanding of the B- and T-celllymphocyte attenuator (BTLA) and its role as central regulator of immunity in glomerulonephritis.

February 2021

Dr. Alexander Rokohl

was awarded the Dr. Georg Prize by Verein Rheinisch-Westfälischer Augenärzte (RWA). Dr. Rokohl together with Professor Dr. Heindl were the first to describe, define and establish diagnostic criteria for the pathology of the Dry Anophthalmic Socket Syndrome (DASS). Based on their results, the two scientists were able to establish the world’s first interdisciplinary consultation center for eye prosthesis at the University Hospital in Cologne.

Dr. Rokohl is assistant physician and clinician scientist at the Clinic of General Ophthalmology under the leadership of Professor Dr. Cursiefen. Professor Cursiefen is Co-Prinicipal Investigator of the CMMC-Project:
A 09 - Role and therapeutic potential of autophagy-related mechanisms in UV-induced blinding ocular stem cell disorders (Pterygium)

Dr. Hanhan Liu

a scientitific fellow at the Clinic of General Ophthalmology, has been awarded the Science Prize of the Verein Rheinisch-Westfälischer Augenärzte (RWA).

Dr. Liu is a fellow of the Cologne Clinician Scientist program and works unter der supervision and mentoring of Prof. Dr. Prokosch and Prof. Dr. Claus Cursiefen. Professor Cursiefen is Co-Prinicipal Investigator of the CMMC-Project:
A 09 - Role and therapeutic potential of autophagy-related mechanisms in UV-induced blinding ocular stem cell disorders (Pterygium)

January 2021

Prof. Dr. Rita Schmutzler

head of the Center for Familial Breast- and Ovarian Cancer, University Hospital of Cologne, has been awarded the University Prize for Research 2020 at the digital Annual Reception of the University of Cologne in January 2021. Rita Schmutzler receives this research award for her research in cancer prevention, especially the concept of risk-adapted prevention.

Prof. Dr. Rita Schmutzler is Principal Investigator of the CMMC project:
assoc. RG 20 - Investigation of the genetic causes of breast and ovarian cancer

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