Stefanie Dimmeler facts for kids

Stefanie Dimmeler (born July 18, 1967) is a German biologist. She studies how diseases affect the heart and blood vessels. She has won many awards, including the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize. This award was for her work on how certain cells in blood vessels die. Since 2008, she has been in charge of a special institute at the University of Frankfurt. Her team works on new ways to help the heart and blood vessels heal. They also look at special molecules called non-coding RNAs as new ways to treat diseases.

Stefanie Dimmeler's Early Life and Education

Stefanie Dimmeler went to school in towns like Hagnau and Stetten. She then went to high school in Markdorf. From 1986 to 1991, she studied biology at the University of Konstanz. In 1993, she earned her PhD from Konstanz. Her research was about how nitric oxide affects cells.

Her Journey in Research

After her PhD, Dimmeler worked as a researcher. From 1993 to 1995, she was at the University of Cologne. Then, from 1995 to 2001, she worked at the University of Frankfurt. In 1998, she became a professor in experimental medicine. Her work focused on problems with blood vessel linings in a disease called atherosclerosis. This disease makes arteries narrow and hard.

Since 2001, she has been a professor at the University of Frankfurt. She teaches about molecular cardiology. This is the study of the heart at a tiny, molecular level. In 2008, she became the director of the Institute for Cardiovascular Regeneration. This institute is part of the Goethe University Frankfurt.

Major Awards and Grants

Stefanie Dimmeler has received many important awards for her work. In 2005, she won the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize. This prize is worth 1.55 million euros. In 2007, she received the Ernst Jung Prize for Medicine. She also got large research grants from the European Research Council in 2008 and 2015. These grants were worth more than 2.4 million euros.

Leading Important Research Centers

In 2020, Stefanie Dimmeler became the Chairwoman of the "German Center for Cardiovascular Research e.V." (DZHK). The DZHK is a group that helps improve how we prevent, diagnose, and treat common diseases. It was started in 2011 by the German Ministry of Education and Research. The main goal of the DZHK is to quickly move new discoveries from basic research into treatments for patients.

Dimmeler is also a spokesperson for the "Cardio-Pulmonary Institute." This is another important research group. It is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

Stefanie Dimmeler's Scientific Discoveries

Stefanie Dimmeler has written over 470 scientific papers. Her research team studies the basic ways that heart and blood vessel diseases happen. They want to find new ways to treat these diseases. Their current work looks at how special molecules called RNA and different cells can help repair the heart. She has been named a "Highly Cited Researcher" since 2014. This means her work is often used and referenced by other scientists.

Awards and Honors