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Ulrike Beisiegel
Ulrike Beisiegel.jpg
Born (1952-12-23) 23 December 1952 (age 72)
Nationality German
Known for first woman president of the University of Göttingen
Awards Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize
Rudolf Schönheimer Medal
Academic background
Alma mater University of Marburg
Influences Joseph L. Goldstein
Michael S. Brown
Gunüla O Uvecrona
Academic work
Institutions University of Texas at Dallas
Umeå University
German Research Foundation
University of Göttingen

Ulrike Beisiegel was born on December 23, 1952. She is a German biochemist and university professor. In 2011, she made history by becoming the first woman president of the University of Göttingen. This university was founded way back in 1737!

Ulrike Beisiegel's research focused on how fats in the liver can cause diseases. Her important work earned her special awards like the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize and the Rudolf Schönheimer Medal. She also received honorary doctorates, which are special degrees given to honor someone's achievements. She has worked hard to keep science honest and high-quality. Because of this, she has served on many important groups and received the Ubbo-Emmius Medal.

Early Life and Education

Ulrike Beisiegel was born in Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany. She studied biology in Münster and Marburg. In 1979, she earned her PhD from the University of Marburg.

After her studies, she moved to Dallas, Texas. There, she did research with two Nobel Prize winners, Joseph L. Goldstein and Michael S. Brown. They worked at the University of Texas at Dallas.

When she returned to Germany, she worked as a research assistant. In 1983, she won the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize. This award was for her work on how problems with "receptors" can cause diseases. From 1984, she worked at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf.

Research and Teaching Career

In 1989, Ulrike Beisiegel started working with a Swedish scientist named Gunüla O. Uvecrona. They worked together at Umeå University. Their research looked at how fats in the blood affect the liver. They studied how certain fats and enzymes in the liver could help prevent heart disease.

In 1990, Beisiegel became a professor at the University of Hamburg. She was promoted to a higher professor level in 1996. That same year, Umeå University gave her an honorary doctorate. This was to honor her great teamwork with Uvecrona. In 2001, she became the director of the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in Hamburg.

Leading Science and Universities

Besides teaching, Ulrike Beisiegel has been part of many important groups. These groups help set standards for science. In 2000, she joined a review board for the German Research Foundation. In 2002, she joined a committee for the Leibniz Association.

In 2006, she became a member of the German Council of Science and Humanities. She was chosen to lead its research group in 2008. From 2005, she also helped set rules for good scientific practices. She worked to prevent dishonest science.

In 2008, she received the Rudolf Schönheimer Medal. This is a very important award for research on atherosclerosis, a type of heart disease. In 2009, she became a Senator of the Leibniz Association.

In 2010, Ulrike Beisiegel was chosen as the first woman president of the University of Göttingen. She started this important job on January 1, 2011, for a six-year term. She also became a Senator of the Max Planck Society in 2011. In 2012, she became Vice President of the German Rectors' Conference.

In 2014, she received the Ubbo-Emmius Medal. This award recognized her research on heart diseases and her strong belief in doing good science. In 2015, the University of Edinburgh gave her another honorary doctorate. This was for her work in leading universities and helping scientists from different fields and countries work together.

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