Prof. Fink new member of the Leopoldina
© Foto: Klaus Schmidt
The German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina brings together researchers with special expertise in their respective fields. With his admission to the Leopoldina, Prof. Dr. Gereon R. Fink is honored as one of the most cited German neuroscientists for outstanding scientific achievements in the neurosciences. Prof. Fink is Director of the Department of Neurology at the University Hospital of Cologne, Professor of Neurology at the University of Cologne and, since 2019, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Cologne (in connection with this also a permanent member of the CMMC Executive Board) and member of the Board of Directors of the University Hospital of Cologne.
“I am delighted to be accepted into the Leopoldina! I see this as an award for the constant efforts to advance basic neuroscientific research and translational neurological research to better understand neurological diseases such as stroke, Parkinson's disease or dementia, with the aim of improving the diagnosis and treatment of these diseases,” says Prof. Fink.
He has made a name for himself internationally as a cognitive neuroscientist. Among other things, his work has significantly advanced the understanding of motor and cognitive disorders after a stroke and their improvement in the context of rehabilitation. He has also provided significant impetus for the investigation of higher brain functions using positron emission tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging. His most recent scientific work focuses on new therapeutic approaches (deep brain stimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation, transcranial direct current stimulation) to improve impaired brain functions.
Prof. Fink studied medicine in Cologne from 1982 to 1989. Following his further training as a specialist in neurology in Cologne, London and Düsseldorf, and his habilitation in Düsseldorf, he was Deputy Director of the Neurological Clinic at Aachen University Hospital and Chair of Neurology at RWTH Aachen University from 2004 to 2006, before moving to the University of Cologne in 2006. Prof. Dr. Gereon R. Fink has also been Director of the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine at Forschungszentrum Jülich since 2005. He is the author of several hundred specialist articles in high-ranking scientific journals and numerous book chapters as well as the editor of specialist books. Prof. Fink has also been a member of Academia Europaea since 2022. He was President of the German Society for Clinical Neurophysiology and Functional Imaging (DGKN) in 2011/2012 and President of the German Society of Neurology (DGN) in 2017 and 2018. Since June 2024, the physician has been a member of the Executive Committee of the European Academy of Neurology.
With around 1,600 members from over 30 countries, the Leopoldina is a classic learned society. Since the academy was founded in 1652, more than 7,000 personalities have been admitted to its ranks. These have included Marie Curie, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Alexander von Humboldt, Justus von Liebig and Max Planck. The German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina has been the National Academy of Sciences since 2008 and works on important social issues of the future from a scientific perspective, independent of economic or political interests. The Leopoldina communicates its findings to politicians and the public and represents these topics in national and international committees.
More information: https://www.leopoldina.org/mitgliederverzeichnis/mitglieder/member/Member/show/gereon-fink/
Univ.-Prof. Dr. med. Gereon R. Fink
Dean, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne
Member of the Board, University Hospital Cologne
Director of the Clinic and Polyclinic for Neurology
University Hospital Cologne
Kerpener Straße 62
50937 Cologne
Director, Cognitive Neurosciences
Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine
Research Center Jülich
Leo-Brandt-Straße
52248 Jülich
Press Contact:
Stephanie Wolff M.A.
Referentin für Öffentlichkeitsarbeit/Kommunikation
Medizinisches Dekanat der Universität zu Köln
Joseph-Stelzmann-Straße 20 50931 Köln
Telefon: +49 (0)221 478 30774
stephanie.wolff@uk-koeln.de
News translated and modified by CMMC
Original Press Release