Organization

Prof. Dr. E. Jürgen Zöllner

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult., medical doctor and German politician (SPD).

Appointed Professor of Physiological Chemistry at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz in 1977. Vice-President of the University (1983 – 1990). President of the University (1991). Minister for Education and Science in Rhineland-Palatinate (1991 – 2006), also Deputy Minister-President there from May 2006. Senator for Education, Science, and Research of the State of Berlin (2006 – 2011). President of the German Conference of Ministers of Education (2007), chair of the German Conference of Ministers for Youth and Family Affairs (2008) and on the Board of the Joint Science Conference (GWK) from 2008 to 2011. Member of the German Science and Humanities Council (1991 – 2011).

Chair of Stiftung Charité from 2012 to April 2021.

Chair of the Board of Trustees at Stiftung Charité since May 2021.

STEFAN QUANDT

Stefan Quandt(*1966) is an entrepreneur and sole shareholder of the strategic investment companies AQTON SE and DELTON AG. Through AQTON SE, Stefan Quandt holds shares inter alia in BMW AG and SOLARWATT GmbH, as well as Entrust Datacard Corp., Kiwigrid GmbH, and the rating agency Scope. DELTON AG also includes a 100% shareholding in Biologische Heilmittel Heel GmbH and a majority stake in Logwin AG. As a fourth-generation entrepreneur, Stefan Quandt takes a long-term approach with all his investments.

Stefan Quandt is chair of the administrative board and managing director of AQTON SE, chair of the supervisory board of DELTON AG, and vice-chair of the supervisory board and member of the executive committee of BMW AG. He also holds honorary positions at the Johanna Quandt Stiftung, BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt, Stiftung Charité, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Friends of the Frankfurt Museum of Modern Art (MMK), and Stiftung Blickachsen.

Prof. DR. LEENA BRUCKNER-TUDERMAN

Dr. Leena Bruckner-Tuderman is Professor of Dermatology and headed the Department of Dermatology and Venerology at the University of Freiburg from 2003 to 2021. Her research interests include molecular genetics and pathomechanisms of the skin as well as the development of cell-, gene- and protein-based therapies. She has held various offices in the scientific community; for instance, she was Vice President of the German Research Foundation for many years. From 2013 to 2022, Leena Bruckner-Tuderman was deputy chair of Stiftung Charité’s Scientific Advisory Board and thus able to observe the foundation’s work within the Johanna Quandt Private Excellence Initiative close-up.

PROF. DR. SANDRA CIESEK

Dr. Sandra Ciesek is Professor of Medical Virology and Director of the corresponding Institute at the University Hospital Frankfurt am Main. Her main area of research includes infections with hepatitis C viruses. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Ciesek worked intensively on SARS viruses and has contributed to science communication and policy advice in a commendable manner. In this context, she was awarded the title University Teacher of the Year in 2021. Sandra Ciesek is a specialist in internal medicine and gastroenterology to boot – as well as in microbiology, virology and the epidemiology of infectious diseases.

Prof. DR. Detlev Ganten

Prof. Detlev Ganten was born in Lüneburg in 1941. He studied medicine in Würzburg, Montpellier, and Tübingen, and spent several years at the Clinical Research Institute at McGill University in Montreal, where he was awarded his PhD. In 1975, Ganten was appointed to the Pharmacological Institute at the University of Heidelberg. In 1991, Ganten became the founding director and chair of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) in Berlin-Buch, as well as the holder of the Professorship for Clinical Pharmacology at the Benjamin Franklin Clinic at the Free University of Berlin. From 2004 to 2008, Ganten was the CEO of Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, which was formed with the merging of the medical schools at the Free University and the Humboldt University of Berlin. Ganten has chaired the Board of Trustees at Stiftung Charité since 2005. He has chaired the Joint Board of Trustees for the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (MPI-KG) and of Molecular Plant Physiology (MPI-MP) and has been president of the World Health Summit since 2009.

Prof. Dr. Heyo Kroemer

Heyo K. Kroemer was born in 1960 in Leer/Ostfriesland and studied pharmacology at the Technical University of Braunschweig (1978 – 1983). In 1992, he was awarded his habilitation in pharmacology and toxicology at Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen. That same year, he received the Paul Martini Prize. In 1998, he assumed the Professorship for General Pharmacology at the Ernst Moritz Arndt University of Greifswald. Kroemer was also dean of the Greifswald Faculty of Medicine (2000 – 2012).

From 2012 to 2019, he served as full-time dean, chair of research and teaching, and executive spokesperson for Göttingen Medical School. In 2018, he was elected to the Leopoldina, the German National Academy of Sciences. Kroemer has been an executive member of the German Association of Medical Faculties since 2007 and served as its president from 2012 to 2019. He sits on numerous research administration committees, including the Scientific Advisory Board of the German Medical Association, having been elected to the board in 2017.

Heyo K. Kroemer has been CEO of Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin since 1 September 2019.

Astrid Lurati

Astrid Lurati, born in Minden in 1966, is Chief Financial and Infrastructure Officer at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. From May 2016 until December 2019, she served as Hospital Director and member of the Executive Board of Charité. Mrs. Lurati studied Business Economics at the University of Hamburg, qualifying in 1994 with a degree in Business Administration. Following this, she received a Master of Pharmaceutical Medicine from the University of Witten/Herdecke in 1998. Mrs. Lurati’s professional career began in 1986 in Hamburg, where she embarked on an apprenticeship in Hotel Business Management at “Vier Jahreszeiten” Hotel. On completion of this training, Mrs. Lurati was employed for some time within the banking sector, where she worked in the Department of Corporate Finance and Equity Research, advising the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. From 1997, she was employed at the Bayer AG, Leverkusen, where she headed the Department of Strategic Planning, later moving to the Department of Investor Relations. In 2003, Mrs. Lurati returned to Hamburg where she would spend the next thirteen years of her professional career working at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). This phase of her professional life began with a year as Department Business Director following which she was swiftly promoted to the position of Head of Hospital Financing. Subsequently in 2007, she became Deputy Commercial Director of the UKE. During this period, she also served intermittently as Acting Commercial Director.

Prof. Dr. Brigitte Oetker

• 1984 – 1990: Managing director of Kulturkreis der deutschen Wirtschaft im BDI e.V. and Arbeitsring Ausland für kulturelle Aufgaben e.V., Cologne
• 1988 – present: Member of the Executive Board of Villa Romana e.V., Florence
• 1989 – present: Editor of Jahresring – Jahrbuch für moderne Kunst
• 1994 – 1997: Art curator at Leipzig Trade Fair with Mechthild von Dannenberg and Christiane Maria Schneider
• 1998: Curator of MAI 98 (contemporary art exhibition) at Josef Haubrich Kunsthalle, Cologne with Christiane Maria Schneider
• 2004 – present: Vice-President of Bundesverband der Fördervereine Deutscher Museen für bildende Kunst e.V.
• 2008: Curator of the exhibition Gedichte der Zukunft (“Poetry of the Future”) at the Museum of Contemporary Art (GfZK), Leipzig
• 2007 – present: Member of the Board of Trustees at Stiftung Charité
• 2010 – present: Member of the Board of Trustees at Freunde der Berliner Philharmoniker e.V.
• 2013 – present: Chair of ifa Freunde des Deutschen Pavillons / Biennale Venedig e.V.

Prof. Dr. Jens Schneider-Mergener

Jens Schneider-Mergener studied chemistry and biochemistry at the Universities of Bielefeld and Munich. He was awarded a doctorate from LMU Munich in biochemistry before working at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena in the field of AIDS research. There he discovered the HIV-1 protease, which served as a basis for the development of anti-HIV-1 drug therapies. He then moved – prior to German reunification – to Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, where he established a research group focusing on the development of biochips to accelerate drug discovery. In 1994, he founded the tech company Jerini AG. He became its director in 2000 and transformed it into a pharmaceutical company. After the floatation of Jerini AG in 2005 and the successful development and introduction to the market of the first bradykinin antagonists against hereditary angioedema, he sold the company in 2008 to Shire Pharmaceuticals. He later founded the non-profit Kusala Foundation with his wife, which funds projects on the connection between mind and health. He also completed a four-year qualification in Gestalt therapy. Schneider-Mergener has concerned himself with the theoretical and practical study of Vipassana meditation since 1989. Today he is chair of the Executive Board of Adrenomed AG.

Prof. Dr. Joachim Spranger

Joachim Spranger was born in Cologne in 1970. He completed both his studies in human medicine and his doctorate at Ruhr-Universität Bochum. In 2005, he qualified as a professor in the field of internal medicine at Charité. In 2008, he was appointed Heisenberg Professor of Diabetology at Charité. Since 2011, Prof. Spranger has headed Charité’s Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism as well as the Endocrinology and Metabolism Unit at Labor Berlin – Charité Vivantes GmbH. He sat on the Faculty Board as Vice Dean of Education from January 2017 to April 2022, and was also a member of the Faculty Council for many years, serving as its spokesperson from 2015 to 2017. He was spokesperson of the Clinical Research Unit at the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH) from 2014 to 2018. Prof. Spranger has been Dean of Charité since January 1, 2023.

DR. JÖRG APPELHANS

Born in 1969 in Thuine (Emsland). Studied philosophy, German philology, and musicology in Cologne and Paris (1990 – 1996). Press officer for the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (1996 – 1998). Research assistant for Dr. Jürgen Rüttgers (1999 – 2000); doctorate on ‘Heidegger and Poetology‘. Personal aide to the Quandt family and chair of the Johanna Quandt Stiftung since 2005. Elected to the Executive Board of Stiftung Charité in 2005. Managing director of Consiqua GmbH since 2009. Managing director of aqtivator GmbH since 2013.

Marie Hoffmann

Marie Hoffmann came to Stiftung Charité as Project Manager for Science Funding in 2019. She has over ten years of experience in project and network management at the interface of science, politics, economics, and civil society. From 2018 to 2019, she supported the founders of FreightHub, one of the largest European tech start-ups (today known as Forto). Previously, she worked in the area of scientific policy advice at the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) where she reported to the director and coordinated the international fellowship program. She studied Chinese and business administration in Berlin, Paris, and Shanghai. In addition to foundation and science management, she has a keen interest in the history of Chinese medicine. In December 2023, she took over the management of the Berlin head office.

MANDY HAASE

Mandy Haase has been an asset to Stiftung Charité since 2018. She started as personal assistant to Prof. Dr. E. Jürgen Zöllner, former chair of the foundation and current chair of its Board of Trustees. Now she is fully integrated as part of Controlling and Finance at Stiftung Charité. Prior to joining the foundation, she qualified as a graphic designer and studied tourism management. She worked as a product manager for the travel company Ventus Reisen, travelling all over the world and combining a talent for organization with an interest in numbers. Mandy continues to pursue her love of travelling in her free time. Her favorite holidays involve pitching a tent somewhere in Germany or Europe.

EMMA HECK

Emma Heck joined Stiftung Charité in October 2024 as Junior Project Manager in Innovation and Event Management for a two-year trainee program. Following on from her Bachelor’s degree in Management and Marketing across Europe, she successfully completed her Master’s degree in European Studies at the University of Gothenburg in September 2024. Emma gained first professional experience as a marketing assistant at the medical technology company Abiomed (2021) and as a research management assistant at the Centre for European Research at the University of Gothenburg (2023) in two six-month-long internships. She brings a wide range of international experience with her. The European idea was central to her upbringing in the German-speaking region of Belgium. In her free time, Emma enjoys exploring her creative streak through art. This passion enables her to integrate creative and innovative solutions into her professional projects too.

DR. INGA LÖDIGE

Dr. Inga Lödige joined Stiftung Charité as Research Funding Manager in February 2024. After completing her PhD at the Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP) in Berlin, Inga’s sustained interest in RNA biology first led her to Basel. Via Regensburg and Heidelberg, she then returned to Berlin in order to work at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), more specifically their Institute for Medical Systems Biology (MDC-BIMSB). In addition to many years of experience in basic biomedical research, Inga brings a passion for values such as diversity, good communication and interdisciplinary collaboration to her new position.

DR. NINA SCHMIDT

Nina Schmidt studied for her doctorate in the United Kingdom. During this time, she became convinced of the need for the arts and sciences to open themselves to the public so that they can achieve impact beyond disciplinary boundaries. As a postdoc at Freie Universität Berlin and scholar of literature and culture, Nina co-curated an exhibition at the Berlin Museum of Medical History at the Charité and co-organized a week of events on Mental Health and Literature for the Literature Forum at the Brecht House in Berlin. She moved to Stiftung Charité in November 2021. Since then, she has been working on expanding the funding portfolio of Stiftung Charité with targeted #scicomm and Open Science programs. She also takes care of our publicity work as a former freelance journalist.

MARVIN STOLZ

Marvin Stolz has been working in innovation management and technology transfer for more than 15 years. Before joining Stiftung Charité in 2017, he worked as an officer for technology transfer at the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) and as a team member in early validation projects at the Institute of Chemistry at the University of Potsdam. Later, he accompanied a spin-off developing solutions for the non-invasive quantification of oxygen levels as a vitality parameter in tissue engineering and organ-on-a-chip technologies. Marvin was awarded a degree in business administration before undertaking a Master of Science Communications and Marketing. He enjoys cycling to work on his Dutch bike.

TANJA TREYSSE

Tanja Treysse joined Stiftung Charité in October 2021. Life sciences were new to her at the time, having already worked in transport, energy and climate, and in the field of transatlantic relations. She previously worked on internationalizing the Transrapid train, which involved receiving international delegates in Emsland. In the field of energy and climate, she helped to establish the administration side of IZ Klima, the information center for CO2 technologies and ran its back office. She also assisted the directors and managed the office at the renowned Aspen Institute Germany. Tanja was born and raised in Berlin and is a qualified foreign language correspondent and business graduate.

MARIKE DE VRIES

Marike de Vries completed a two-year traineeship at Stiftung Charité, specializing in science communication and event management. She is now back at university studying for a Master’s degree, but has remained with Stiftung Charité as a project assistant for public relations. Before joining Stiftung Charité, she obtained a degree in historical and German linguistics at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin while working at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. There she worked on the public-facing annual thematic programme, gaining insight into science-related work, event management, and public relations. Born and brought up in Emden, the largest city in East Frisia, Marike has brought a distinct love of tea and a handful of Low German pearls of wisdom with her to Berlin.

DANIELA JAKOB

Daniela Jakob has been working for Stiftung Charité as an assistant to the Executive Board since February 2013. She supports the work of Dr. Jörg Appelhans at the foundation’s registered office in Bad Homburg. In addition to general administrative tasks, the focus of her work is on event management and communications.