Two SH-Excellence Chairs for Principal Investigators of miTarget

The two new Schleswig-Holstein Chairs of Excellence at Kiel University: Prof. Dr. David Ellinghaus, Professor of Biomedical Informatics and Genetic Redefinition of Phenotypes, and Prof. Dr. Petra Bacher, Professor of Immunology and Immunogenetics.© Kai-Ole Nissen/MBWFK SH

The innovative funding programme of the state of Schleswig-Holstein (SH) for medical research at the Universities of Kiel and Lübeck and at the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH) is entering its second round: In the Schleswig-Holstein Excellence Chair programme (SH Chairs), four outstanding scientists are now being funded. Professor Petra Bacher and Professor David Ellinghaus from Kiel as well as Professor Henriette Kirchner and Professor Markus Hoffmann from Lübeck were able to convince the external reviewers with their scientific ideas and concepts, as well as their scientific excellence.

Prof. Bacher and Prof. Ellinghaus are principle investigators within the DFG Research Unit (RU) 5042 miTarget. Prof. Bacher is an expert in T cell immunology and her knowledge in the field of intestinal immune regulation is highly valued within the team of the RU. Prof. Ellinghaus leads the central data management and bioinformatic analysis project for the entire RU, providing an essential prerequisite for excellent research in miTarget.

As an innovative personnel strategy, the SH-Chair programme is part of “Precision Medicine in Schleswig-Holstein” (PHSH) and wants to increasingly support successful and excellent scientists from Schleswig-Holstein. In 2017, the first eight SH chairs were occupied, now four followed. Each SH-Chair will receive 1.2 million euros each for over six years, including the establishment of a junior research group with a junior professorship.