Professor Dr. Thomas Benzing was elected to the DFG Senate

At the DFG Annual Meeting in Hamburg, the General Assembly of the German Research Foundation (DFG) elected Professor Dr. Thomas Benzing from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Cologne to the Senate for a three-year term (2026-2028). He is the director of Clinic II for Internal Medicine at Cologne University Hospital and the spokesperson for the research Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC). He is also the co-spokesperson for the Cologne Cluster of Excellence for Ageing Research, CECAD. In the Senate, he will take over the seat for Clinical Medicine I.

"I warmly congratulate Professor Benzing on his election to the DFG Senate," said Professor Dr. Joybrato Mukherjee, rector of the University of Cologne. “His expertise in nephrology and experience in scientific research make him an ideal candidate for this important role.”

The DFG Senate is the central scientific body that makes key decisions regarding research funding, as well as the organization of the review, evaluation, and decision-making processes. The Senate has a total of 39 members. Its members are also the scientific members of the Joint Committee.

Of the six newly appointed Senate seats, one is in the humanities and social sciences, two are in the life sciences, two are in the natural sciences, and one is in the engineering sciences. Six other Senate members were confirmed in office. Their term begins on January 1, 2026.

Scientific contact
Professor Dr. Thomas Benzing
thomas.benzing@uk-koeln.de 

This message has been modified by the CMMC (K. Heber & D. Grosskopf-Kroiher) and is based on the text by the press and communications team of the University of Cologne (Dr. Anna Euteneuer, original German version here).