Katja Becker
Katja Becker | |
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| Occupation(s) | physician and biochemist |
| Scientific career | |
| Thesis | Glutathione reductase and its apoenzyme: contributions to malaria chemotherapy and to diagnosing FAD deficiencies |
Katja Becker(born 7 March 1965, also known asKatja Becker-Brandenburgin some older publications) is a Germanphysicianandbiochemistwho has been serving as the president of theGerman Research Foundation(DFG) since 2020. She had previously been the organization's vice president from 2014 to 2019.[1]
From 2009 to 2012 Becker was the vice president for research atJustus Liebig UniversityinGiessen,Germany.[2]From 2015 to 2017 she was a German representative on the scientific committee of theEuropean Cooperation in Science and Technology(COST).[3]
Early life and education
[edit]Becker studiedmedicineatRuprecht Karls Universityin Heidelberg, Germany, from 1984 to 1991. In 1988 she received herdoctorate(summa cum laude) under the tutelage ofR. Heiner Schirmer.The topic of her dissertation was "Glutathione reductase and its apoenzyme: contributions to malaria chemotherapy and to diagnosing FAD deficiencies" (German:Glutathionreduktase und ihr Apoenzym: Beiträge zur Chemotherapie der Malaria und zur Diagnostik von FAD-Mangelzuständen). She completed her university professor qualification (German:Habilitation) in 1996 in the field ofbiochemistryat the medical faculty of the University of Heidelberg.
Career
[edit]After completing hermedical residencyatJohn Radcliffe HospitalinOxfordand theUniversity Hospital of Basel,Becker gained clinical and research experience inNigeriaandGhanaand worked as a postdoctoral fellow at theUniversity of Sydney.She qualified as a medical specialist in biochemistry at Heidelberg University in 1998.
Becker subsequently worked as a senior research fellow at the Biochemistry Center of Heidelberg University. In 1999Julius Maximilians UniversityinWürzburgappointed her to an associate professorship in the Research Center for Infectious Diseases (German:Zentrum für Infektionsforschung).
In 2000,Justus Liebig Universityin Giessen appointed her to a full professorship in Biochemistry andMolecular Biologyat the Interdisciplinary Research Center (German:Interdisziplinäres Forschungszentrum für biowissenschaftliche Grundlagen der Umweltsicherung (IFZ)).[4]Most of her research focus is on the role ofoxidative stressand antioxidative protective mechanisms during disease development and on developing new drugs to fighttumorousandinfectious diseases,especiallymalaria.[5][6]In 2006 she spent six months at theScripps Research Institutefor a research stay.
From 2000 until 2005, Becker was a member of theJunge Akademie,part of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and the Leopoldina Academy.[7]Since June 2009 she has been a full member of the Leopoldina Academy, one of its youngest so far.[8]
On 21 October 2009 Becker became the first woman ever to be elected to the vice presidency of the University of Giessen, serving her three-year term from 1 November 2009 to 31 October 2012.[2][9]
Since 2014, Becker has been the coordinator of DFG Priority Program 1710, "Dynamics of Thiol-based Redox Switches in Cellular Physiology."[10][11]Since 2018 she has been the coordinator of the LOEWE Center DRUID (NovelDrug Targets against Poverty-related and Neglected TropicalInfectiousDiseases) as part of the Hessian State initiative to fund academic-economic excellence (LandesOffensive zurEntwicklungWissenschaftlich-ökonomischerExzellenz - LOEWE).[12][13]
On 3 July 2019 Becker was elected as president of the German Research Foundation, thereby becoming the first female to hold this post. In the year-long selection process, she won over Wolfgang Marquardt andDorothea Wagner.[14]She had been vice president of the German Research Foundation since 2014.[1]
Other activities
[edit]Becker is a member of several scientific and political advisory boards, works as an expert reviewer, and organizes academic conferences, including the following:
- Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2020)[15]
- German Future Prize,Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2020)[16]
- Fritz Thyssen Foundation,Member of the Scientific Advisory Board (since 2020)[17]
- German National Academic Foundation,Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2020)[18]
- Center for Infectious Diseases (ZINF),University of Würzburg,Member of the Scientific Advisory Board (2016–2019)[19]
Recognition
[edit]For her research and teaching activities, Becker has won multiple awards, including the following:
- 1989 – Ludolf Krehl Prize, awarded by the Southwest German Society of Internal Medicine (for her dissertation)[20]
- 2003 –Carus Medal,awarded by the GermanNational Academy of Sciences Leopoldina[21]
- 2010 –Rudolf LeuckartMedal, awarded by theGerman Society for Parasitology(for her work on energymetabolismin pathogenic parasites such as themalaria pathogen)[22]
Selected writings
[edit]Books
[edit]- Becker, Katja;Engelen, Eva-Maria; Vec, Miloš (1 January 2003),Ethisierung - Ethikferne: Wie viel Ethik braucht die Wissenschaft?(in German) (1st ed.), Berlin: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co.KG, p. 243,ISBN9783050082219
- Becker, Katja;Seltzer, Paul M. (February 2011).Apicomplexan Parasites: Molecular Approaches toward Targeted Drug Development.Drug Discovery in Infectious Diseases. Vol. 2 (1st ed.). Weinheim: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 550.ISBN978-3-527-32731-7.
Journal articles
[edit]- Kanzok, Stefan M.; Fechner, Anke; Bauer, Holger; Ulschmid, Julia K.; Müller, Hans-Michael; Botella-Munoz, José; Schneuwly, Stephan;Schirmer, R. Heiner;Becker, Katja(26 Jan 2001), "Substitution of the thioredoxin system for glutathione reductase inDrosophila melanogaster",Science,291(5504): 643–646,doi:10.1126/science.291.5504.643,PMID11158675
- Becker, Katja;Savvides, Savvas N.; Keese, Michael;Schirmer, R. Heiner;Karplus, P. Andrew (April 1998). "Enzyme inactivation through sulfhydryl oxidation by physiologic NO-carriers".Nature Structural Biology.5(4): 267–271.doi:10.1038/nsb0498-267.PMID9546215.S2CID20607289.
- Perez-Jimenez, Raul; Li, Jingyuan; Kosuri, Pallav; Sanchez-Romero, Immaculada; Wiita, Arun P.; Rodriguez-Larrea, David; Chueca, Ana;Holmgren, Arne;Miranda-Vizuete, Antonio;Becker, Katja;Cho, Seung-Hyun;Beckwith, Jon;Gelhaye, Eric; Jacquot, Jean P.; Gaucher, Eric A.; Sanchez-Ruiz, Jose M.; Berne, Bruce J.;Fernandez, Julio M.(18 November 2009)."Diversity of chemical mechanisms in thioredoxin catalysis revealed by single-molecule force spectroscopy".Nature Structural & Molecular Biology.16(8): 890–896.doi:10.1038/nsmb.1627.PMC2745927.PMID19597482.
- Fritz-Wolf, Karin; Kehr, Sebastian; Stumpf, Michaela; Rahlfs, Stefan; Becker, Katja: Crystal structure of the human thioredoxin reductase–thioredoxin complex.Nature Communications2:383, 2011.doi: 10.1038/ncomms1382.
- Krieg, Reimar; Jortzik, Esther; Goetz, Alice-Anne; Blandine, Stèphanie; Wittlin, Sergio; Elhabiri, Mourad; Rahbari, Mahsa; Nuryyeva, Selbi; Voigt, Kerstin; Dahse, Hans-Martin; Brakhage, Axel; Beckmann, Svenja; Quack, Thomas; Grevelding, Christoph G.; Pinkerton, Anthony B.; Schönecker, Bruno; Burrows, Jeremy; Davioud-Charvet, Elisabeth; Rahlfs, Stefan; Becker, Katja: Arylmethylamino steroids as antiparasitic agents.Nature Communications8:14478, 2017.doi: 10.1038/ncomms14478.
References
[edit]- ^ab"DFG - Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft - Katja Becker wird Präsidentin der DFG".www.dfg.de.Retrieved2019-07-03.
- ^ab"Große Mehrheit für Prof. Katja Becker".Archived fromthe originalon 2016-03-11.Retrieved2016-03-04.
- ^"COST - Katja Becker".Archived fromthe originalon 2016-03-08.Retrieved2016-03-04.
- ^"Biochemistry and Molecular Biology".
- ^"Research focus".
- ^"DFG - GEPRIS - Professorin Dr. Katja Becker".
- ^Die Junge Akademie."Die Junge Akademie: Details".
- ^"JLU-Professorin Katja Becker in Leopoldina gewählt".
- ^"Prof. Dr. Katja Becker zur Vizepräsidentin gewählt".
- ^"Dynamics of Thiol-based Redox Switches in Cellular Physiology".Retrieved11 July2018.
- ^"Projects funded by the DFG (GEPRIS)".Retrieved11 July2018.
- ^"LOEWE-Zentrum DRUID".Retrieved11 July2018.
- ^"New LOEWE Center DRUID Researches How to Fight Tropical Diseases (German)".Retrieved11 July2018.
- ^Tilmann Warnecke (July 1, 2019),Präsidentenwahl: Dreikampf um die DFG-SpitzeDer Tagesspiegel.
- ^Board of TrusteesArchived2014-04-08 at theWayback MachineAlexander von Humboldt Foundation.
- ^Board of TrusteesDeutscher Zukunftspreis.
- ^Scientific Advisory BoardFritz Thyssen Foundation.
- ^Board of TrusteesGerman National Academic Foundation.
- ^Scientific Advisory BoardCenter for Infectious Diseases (ZINF),University of Würzburg.
- ^Ludolf Krehl Prize award announcement for 1989inDeutsches Ärzteblatt 1990
- ^"Carus-Medaille für Prof. Dr. Katja Becker-Brandenburg".
- ^Administrator."Ehrungen / Preise".
External links
[edit]- Literature by and about Katja Beckerin theGerman National Librarycatalogue
- Curriculum vitaeof Katja Becker,Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,Justus Liebig University
- Katja Beckerin the database of renowned academics fromAcademiaNet
- List of Katja Becker's publicationsfrom the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology group's website
- Membership in the workgroup "Ethics in Science"Archived2016-08-19 at theWayback Machineof theJungen Akademie
- Katja Beckerpublications indexed byGoogle Scholar
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