Boost for Brain Research in Berlin
Berlin, September 29, 2025. Neuroscientist Dr. Susanne Wegmann will be appointed to a joint professorship at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the DZNE on October 1. The appointment follows the so-called “Jülich Model”, which allows professorships to be shared across institutions and thus strengthens excellent research and translation on a structural level. Wegmann’s research focuses on the tau protein, whose dysfunction plays a key role in neurodegenerative diseases.
Her professorship not only reflects her scientific reputation but also forms part of a strategic initiative to foster closer ties between university and non-university research, with the goal of advancing the study and treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. She has been conducting research at the DZNE’s Berlin site for several years and is closely connected to Charité.
Helmholtz Funding from 2026 to Strengthen Wegmann’s Professorship
Starting in January 2026, Susanne Wegmann will also receive support through the “Helmholtz Program for the First Appointment of Excellent Female Scientists (W2/W3).” This highly competitive funding aims to provide outstanding scientists with a long-term perspective in academia while sustainably increasing the share of female professors within the Helmholtz Association.
An important milestone had already been reached in spring 2025: the continuation of her research group at the DZNE secured the long-term structural anchoring of her scientific activities at this internationally connected center.
Focus: Tau Protein and the Mechanisms of Neurodegenerative Diseases
Wegmann’s research centers on the tau protein, whose misfolding and aggregation are hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. Her team investigates how pathological tau structures arise, spread in the brain, and interact with cellular processes.
By combining cell biology, biophysics, and computational methods, her research provides fundamental insights into disease mechanisms – with the aim of enabling future diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.
Accomplished Scientist with an International Profile
For her work, Susanne Wegmann has received several prestigious awards, including the 2023 Rainwater Prize for Innovative Early-Career Scientists in Neurodegeneration, as well as an ERC Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council. As a Henriette Hertz Scout of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, she is committed to fostering international scientific exchange and attracting excellent female talent.
Her reputation is further underlined by recent recognition from Berlin’s Tagesspiegel, which named her among the city’s 100 most important scientists – a tribute to both her scientific impact and her engagement beyond the laboratory.
Commitment to Equality and Early-Career Support
A central concern for Wegmann is the advancement of women in science. Through mentoring programs, selection committees, and within her own team, she actively promotes equal opportunities and transparent career pathways. “Excellence in science requires diversity – in perspectives, life paths, and biographies,” she often emphasizes in public events.
An Asset for Berlin and Beyond
With her new professorship at two leading biomedical institutions, Susanne Wegmann strengthens translationally oriented brain research at the DZNE and at the Berlin research hub, helping to transform fundamental insights into neurodegenerative diseases into clinically relevant concepts.
About Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen, DZNE (German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases): DZNE is one of the world’s leading research centers for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and ALS, which are associated with dementia, movement disorders and other serious health impairments. These diseases place an enormous burden on patients and their families, but also on society and the economy of healthcare. DZNE contributes significantly to the development and translation into practice of novel strategies for prevention, diagnosis, care and treatment. DZNE comprises ten sites across Germany and collaborates with universities, university hospitals, research centers and other institutions in Germany and throughout the world. DZNE is state-funded and a member of the Helmholtz Association and of the German Centers for Health Research.