The Annual Chica and Heinz Schaller Research Award
The Chica and Heinz Schaller Research Award is an annual prize given to a promising young scientist for achievements in the biomedical sciences. The applicant should have a proven track record documenting independent research performed at the University or associated research institutions in Heidelberg.
PD Dr. med. Michael Breckwoldt, Ph.D. is the 2022 awardee of the Annual Chica and Heinz Schaller Research Award
About Michael Breckwoldt:
Michael Breckwoldt is a physician-scientist, board-certified clinical neuroradiologist and Head of the Division of “Immuno-Imaging” at the Neuroradiology Department, University Hospital Heidelberg (Director: Prof. Dr. Martin Bendszus). He has trained as a MD/PhD, specializing in molecular imaging approaches to image neuroinflammation at the University of Munich / TU Munich (with Prof. Dr. Martin Kerschensteiner and Prof. Dr. Thomas Misgeld), Harvard Medical School (with Prof. Dr. Ralph Weissleder) and performed post-doctoral training at the DKFZ with Prof. Dr. Michael Platten (Clinical Cooperation Unit, Neuroimmunology and brain tumor immunology). His group has received funding from the German Research Foundation (Emmy Noether grant), the CRC 1389 and the Else-Kröner Fresenius Foundation. The focus of his group is to investigate hallmarks of the tumor microenvironment by MRI and correlative optical methods (light sheet microscopy), to identify imaging biomarkers of tumor cell invasion and immune cell dynamics and the alterations that occur during targeted therapies. They employ neuroinflammation and glioma models with the ultimate goal of translating imaging biomarkers and molecular imaging approaches to clinical trials of glioma and multiple sclerosis.