On April 1, 2025, Prof. Dr. Dana Branzei took up an Alexander von Humboldt Professorship at the University of Duisburg-Essen. She will conduct research at the Faculty of Biology, the Center for Medical Biotechnology (ZMB) and the Research Center One Health Ruhr of the University Alliance Ruhr.

The internationally renowned molecular biologist was awarded Germany's most highly endowed research prize by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation – proof of her excellent scientific achievements in the field of DNA repair mechanisms.

One focus of her research is the regulation and coordination of DNA repair processes during replication. She investigates how cells maintain genomic stability even under stress conditions. Her work has made a significant contribution to deciphering central principles of the cellular damage response and has provided insights that are highly relevant for understanding carcinogenesis and potential targets in cancer therapy.

The appointment of Dana Branzei not only represents a significant scientific enrichment but also underlines the international appeal of molecular biology research at the University of Duisburg-Essen. In close cooperation with the ZMB and the Research Center One Health Ruhr, the Faculty of Biology offers an excellently networked and interdisciplinary research environment and thus ideal conditions for groundbreaking discoveries.

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  +49 201 183 0
  Dana.Branzei@uni-due.de
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 Personal Details

Born in Romania, Dr. Dana Branzei has been a scientist at the Institute of Molecular Oncology (AIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology) in Milan, Italy, since 2008 and Research Director of the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) since 2020. After her studies in Japan, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the RIKEN Institute in Wako. She has been an elected member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) since 2016. She was awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant in 2016, having previously successfully acquired an ERC Starting Grant. In her home country of Romania, Dana Branzei was awarded the Order of Cultural Merit for her scientific achievements.