Prof. Dr. Stefan Anker from the Charité ? Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Prof. Piotr Ponikowski from Wrocław Medical University have been chosen to receive the 2018 Copernicus Award from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and the Fundacja na rzecz Nauki Polskiej (FNP, Foundation for Polish Science) for their services to German-Polish research collaboration.
The jury of distinguished scholars from Poland and Germany, appointed by FNP and DFG selected the two researchers for their long-standing and distinguished collaboration in heart failure research. Their contributions are considered to have led to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of heart failure as well as new treatment strategies for the disease. The ?200,000 Copernicus Award will be presented on 25 October 2018 in Berlin by the presidents of the DFG and the FNP, Prof. Dr. Peter Strohschneider and Prof. Maciej Żylicz.
Anker and Ponikowski have been collaborating for over 20 years since they first became acquainted during a research visit at Imperial College London. Their partnership has resulted in many highly regarded joint publications and their results have provided the basis for numerous other German-Polish research projects.
The Nicolaus Copernicus Polish-German Research Award has been given since 2006. Every other year it is awarded to a pair of scholars?one from Poland and one from Germany?selected through a competition covering all fields of inquiry. The winners are expected to have contributed significantly to German/Polish cooperation, bringing together complementary skills, expertise, and resources to jointly address research problems. The results of their cooperation should offer the potential for opening up new perspectives in their research fields or other areas of science.
Candidates for the award are nominated by the scientific community. Self-nominations are also accepted. A total of 29 applications were considered in this year?s competition.
Stefan Anker
Since 2017, Stefan Anker has been Professor of Tissue Homeostasis in Cardiology and Metabolism at the Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Regenerative Therapies, an institute of the Charité. He studied medicine in the Faculty of Medicine (Charité) at the Humboldt University of Berlin, where he also earned his doctorate. He then worked as a Clinical Research Fellow at Imperial College London. Back in Germany, he held professorships at the Charité Berlin and Göttingen University Hospital. Anker is Vice-President of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). His core research areas include the mechanisms of tissue metabolism in chronic heart disease and cardio-oncological questions in patients with advanced cancers.
Piotr Ponikowski
Piotr Ponikowski is Professor of Cardiology at Wrocław Medical University, where since 2016 he has also served as Vice-Rector for Research. He is also the President of the Polish Cardiac Society. He studied medicine and earned his doctorate in Wrocław and has researched at Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden and Imperial College and Royal Brompton Hospital in London. His research interests include heart failure, coronary heart disease and cardiac arrhythmia.
More info on winners: link
More info on the Copernicus Award: link
Photo: private archive