Prof. Dr. Gesine Hansen Appointed New Director of the DZL Site BREATH

Following the sudden passing of our esteemed board member, Prof. Dr. Tobias Welte, the succession has now been settled: Prof. Dr. Gesine Hansen has taken on the role of Director of the DZL site BREATH and joined the DZL Board of Directors. This decision was announced to DZL members in early June at the 12th DZL Annual Meeting in Bad Nauheim.

Since 2005, Prof. Dr. Gesine Hansen has been the Medical Director of the Clinic for Pediatric Pulmonology, Allergy, and Neonatology at Hannover Medical School. In addition to her duties in clinical practice, research, and teaching, she has been a member of the DZL site's BREATH Board since the founding of the DZL in 2011. Furthermore, she is the co-speaker of the DFG-funded Excellence Cluster RESIST and the speaker of the Clinician Scientist Program TITUS, which is funded by the Else Kröner-Fresenius Foundation. Even before this, Gesine Hansen gained experience in securing and coordinating research collaborations as the spokesperson for the DFG-funded Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 587 and a BMBF-funded research group.

Gesine Hansen is active in various academic committees. She is an appointed member of the selection committee for the Alexander von Humboldt Professorships, was a long-serving elected member of the DFG's Review Board, a member of the advisory board of the Nationale Genome Research Network of the BMBF, President of the Society for Pediatric Pulmonology, and a senator and member of the research commission at Hannover Medical School (MHH). Prof. Hansen is also an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and has been honored with numerous national and international scientific awards for her research.

Her scientific focus is on investigating the immunological mechanisms of early immune imprinting, the development of allergies and tolerance, early infections, and cell therapeutic approaches to lung diseases. The goal of her research is the development of preventive and therapeutic approaches for various lung diseases and infections in early childhood.

Text: BREATH