Karen Christman awarded Humboldt Research Award
Professor Karen L. Christman, a distinguished bioengineer from the University of California San Diego, has won a prestigious Humboldt Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. The award recognizes leading researchers around the world for their lifetime achievements and potential for future collaboration with the German scientific community.
Her award is part of the Global Minds Initiative Germany, a program established by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) to attract outstanding international scientific talent to Germany. Awardees receive 80,000 euros and the opportunity to conduct a research project in Germany in collaboration with host institutions, fostering long-term scientific exchange and cooperation. Since Christman is already collaborating with the Max Delbrück Center through her Stiftung Charité Visiting Fellow award, the Humboldt Research Award will enable her to ramp up her collaboration with German researchers and spend more time in Germany,
“I am thrilled to receive the Humboldt Research Award and look forward to strengthening collaborations with the Max Delbrück Center on applying bioengineering approaches to treat heart attacks.”
The award and Professor Christman’s research was formally highlighted today, December 18th during a press conference hosted by the BMFTR. Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space Dorothee Bär introduced the first cohort of researchers supported under the Global Minds Initiative – with Christman among them. The event included remarks by Minister Bär and a brief scientific presentation by Christman, underscoring her research projects in Germany.
Leader in regenerative medicine and biomaterials research
Professor Christman is a globally respected expert in bioengineering, regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. She holds the Pierre Galletti Endowed Chair for Bioengineering Innovation and serves as Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs at the Jacobs School of Engineering at the University of California San Diego.
Much of her research involves developing biomaterials to treat and repair tissues damaged from cardiovascular disease, particularly myocardial infarction, which remains a leading cause of disability and death worldwide. Her laboratory at UC San Diego is known for creating novel injectable polymers and hydrogels that support tissue regeneration in the body – approaches designed to foster healing and recover the function of damaged myocardium. She also develops minimally invasive therapy strategies, including materials that can be delivered to sites of injury via the bloodstream.
Further information
