Prof. Dr. Maria Elena Torres Padilla
Director of Biomedicine
Director, Institute of Epigenetics & Stem Cells, Helmholtz Zentrum München
Professor, Chair of Stem Cell Biology at the Faculty of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich
Prof. Dr. Vasilis Ntziachristos
Director of Bioengineering
Director, Institute of Biological and Medical Imaging Helmholtz Zentrum München
Professor of Medicine and Electrical Engineering; Chair of Biological Imaging; Technical University of Munich
Dr. Thomas Schwarz-Romond
Director of Operations
Member of the extended Executive Board of the Helmholtz Zentrum München
Thomas is spearheading the overall deployment, international recruitment and strategic positioning of the Helmholtz Pioneer Campus.
The Steering Committee advises the HPC Board of Directors with regard to scientific strategy, and fosters national and international visibility to attract outstanding scientific talents. The Steering Committee members contribute to the regular quality control/peer-selection of HPC principal investigator applications. They are instrumental in accelerating HPC's integration within the Munich-based, as well as international scientific community and amplify HPC's global ambition as an innovator-hub at the interface of bioengineering, biomedicine and bioinformatics.
Members of the Steering Committee
- Prof. Magdalena Götz, Institute of Stem Cell Research
- Prof. Stephan Herzig, Institute for Diabetes and Cancer
- Prof. Martin Hrabe de Angelis, Institute of Experimental Genetics
- Prof. Heiko Lickert, Institute of Diabetes and Regeneration Research
- Prof. Michael Sattler, Institute of Structural Biology
- Prof. Fabian Theis, Institute for Computational Biology
- Prof. Juliane Winkelmann, Institute for Neurogenomics
- Prof. Wolfgang Wurst, Institute of Developmental Genetics
- Prof. Eleftheria Zeggini, Institute for Translational Genomics
The Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) provides an objective and external perspective to HPC and ensures the quality and international standards of HPC’s scientific and institutional operations. Specifically, the SAB advises the HPC Board of Directors on emerging global scientific trends and research priorities. The SAB also contributes to HPC's international visibility, enables scientific collaborations and partnerships, and serves a crucial role in the peer-evaluation of HPC scientists at the time of contract renewals.
Members of the Scientific Advisory Board
- Prof. Steven Chu; Stanford University, Stanford, USA
- Prof. Amanda Fisher; MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, London, UK
- Prof. Matthias Mann; Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Munich, Germany
- Prof. Stephen Quake; Stanford University and Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, USA
- Dr. Scott Sternson; HHMI - Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, USA
Science Management
Dr. Manuela Hartmann
Manuela did her PhD in soil microbiology at the Technical University Munich, followed by a post-doc and subsequent long-term position as scientist at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton (UK). She studied food web relations of single-cell organisms in the sea. In parallel, she engaged as lab manager and held responsibility for health and safety as well as radiation protection. Months-long research cruises taught her the value of excellent organisational and project management skills, a mix Manuela will contribute to accelerate HPC’s growth. Manuela joined the team in October 2018.
Dr. Barbara Schröder
Barbara is a cell biologist by training and received her Ph.D. from Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich. She continued her training at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, USA working on endocytosis and vesicular trafficking of receptor tyrosine kinases in liver and breast cancer as well as on the role of small GTPases in hepatic lipophagy. After 10 years at Mayo, Barbara left her position as Assistant Professor at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and joined the Institute of Biological and Medical Imaging (IBMI) at HMGU in 2015 as Head of Fundraising and Communications, responsible for all grant-related matters in the pre-award phase. Four successful years later, she accepted the position as EU Liaison Officer at Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, diving deeper into the EU world and consulting on all EU grants of the center with a special focus on ERC and Marie-Curie actions. She rejoined HMGU in November 2020 and is now part of the HPC team using her outstanding expertise to support the HPC PIs proactively as Resource Development Manager.
Dr. Andreas Schröder
Andreas received his PhD at the Max von Pettenkofer-Institute in Munich working on Staphylococcus aureus – human endothelial cell interaction. During his postdoc at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, USA, he worked in the laboratory of Prof. Fergus Couch analyzing mutations in known breast cancer predisposition genes. Since September 2018, he is a member of the administrative team where he supports the HPC deployment as Technical Project Manager.
EJ van Lanen
EJ received a BA in Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Following further study at Ohio University and New School University, EJ became an Assistant Editor at HarperCollins Publishing, New York. He founded two publishers that focused on literature in translation, Open Letter Books and Frisch & Co. Electronic Books, before joining Elsevier GmbH as a Publisher in Berlin, Germany in 2014. Managing the development and operations of more than 40 journals—in fields as diverse as Food Science, Oceanography, and Soil Science—EJ also spearheaded the foundation of Scientific African, the first Open Access megajournal for scientists in Africa. At HPC, EJ is responsible for developing innovative, international publishing initiatives across the Helmholtz Association and in partnership with other international institutions and non-profit organisations.
Project Assistance
Stephanie Montag
Stephanie obtained a journeyman’s certificate in dressmaking and a diploma in fashion design from the Istituto Marangoni in Milan. She then gained first work experience in the design of fashion jewelry and marketing for Christian Dior and Burberry’s. In the following years, she shifted her interests from design to press and public relations and worked as a press consultant for clients in the areas of consumer goods, dotcom start-ups and the tourism industry.
Stephanie lived as a sister in a catholic women’s order before joining the Helmholtz Zentrum München in 2011 as PA to the then CFO. She started to support the director of operations in October 2017 and joined the team in April 2018.
Almut Barden
Almut studied ethnology and sociology in Munich, Bayreuth and Heidelberg. After completing her studies, she worked at the Medical University of Innsbruck as a coordinator for a doctoral programme in the field of life science. Before joining the Helmholtz Zentrum München, Almut was employed at the Technical University of Munich in the Graduate Centre for Medicine. Here she was responsible for a doctoral programme that offers doctoral students with a natural science degree the opportunity to do a PhD at TUM School of Medicine. Since July 2019 she is a part of the Pioneer Campus.