Newly Appointed
Margret Bülow was appointed W2 Professor of Nutritional Biochemistry at the Institute of Nutritional Sciences within the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, effective January 1, 2026.
Previously, she was a group leader specializing in membrane contact sites at the University Hospital Düsseldorf and at the Life and Medical Sciences Institute (LIMES) at the University of Bonn, where she focused on neuronal cell metabolism. She completed her habilitation there in 2022 and subsequently conducted postdoctoral research on peroxisomal metabolism.
She earned her Ph.D. in 2011 at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich under Ruedi Aebersold at the Institute of Molecular Systems Biology. Her current research focuses on the interaction of cell organelles in neurons and how these interactions influence metabolism. Her work demonstrates how organelle interactions contribute to the secretion of neuropeptides, the formation of reactive oxygen species, and neuronal activity.
On July 1 2026, Stefan Konigorski was appointed W3 Professor of Computational Precision Nutrition at the German Institute of Human Nutrition in Potsdam-Rehbrücke.
He also serves as an associate professor in the Windreich Department of Artificial Intelligence and Human Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.
From 2019 to 2026, Stefan Konigorski served as a senior researcher and postdoc at the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, where he headed the Health Intervention Analytics Lab. Prof. Konigorski earned his Ph.D. in computer science from Humboldt University of Berlin, a diploma in mathematics from Heidelberg University, and an M.Sc. in biostatistics from the University of Toronto.
On November 1 2025, Georg Kaissis assumed the W3 Professorship for Digital Health – Health Information Technology as a joint appointment with the Hasso Plattner Institute and the School of Digital Engineering.
He studied medicine and earned his Ph.D. at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. After completing his residency in radiology, he gained extensive expertise in medical imaging, machine learning, and trustworthy AI while holding senior research positions at the Technical University of Munich, Helmholtz Munich, and Imperial College London. Most recently, he was a senior researcher at Google DeepMind in London.
His research focuses on developing the next generation of multimodal AI models capable of integrating and interpreting diverse medical data. The goal is to create trustworthy, safe, and fair systems that accelerate diagnostic processes, enable personalized therapies, and improve the analysis of comprehensive health information.
On November 1, 2025, Katarina Braune assumed the W3 Professorship for Digital Health – Non-Communicable Diseases as a joint appointment with the Hasso Plattner Institute at the School of Digital Engineering.
She is a board-certified pediatrician, a diabetologist, and a medical informatics specialist with a postdoctoral qualification. In her work, she combines medical, technological, and societal perspectives to develop digital solutions for chronic, noncommunicable diseases—particularly diabetes mellitus.
Previously, she conducted research and taught at institutions including Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and helped shape international initiatives that set standards in the care of chronic diseases. At the same time, she has lived with type 1 diabetes since childhood and actively campaigns for people with diabetes worldwide. This personal experience shapes her research and her goal of developing digital health solutions that closely align with the needs of those affected.
Effective March 1, 2026, Patrick Ebel assumed the W1 professorship in Computational Interaction at the School of Digital Engineering as a joint appointment with the Hasso Plattner Institute.
He earned his Ph.D. in 2023 from the University of Cologne with a dissertation on the data-driven evaluation of information systems in vehicles and subsequently led a research group on the development of computer-aided user models at the Center of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence, Data Sciences, and Big Data at the Universities of Leipzig and Dresden.
His research focuses on modeling human interaction behavior when using computers, smartphones, and in-vehicle information systems. He leads a research group on this topic at the HPI.
Sandra Schulz was appointed W2 professor of computer science education at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, effective March 15 2026.
She studied computer science and sports science with a focus on teacher education at Humboldt University in Berlin and earned her Ph.D. with a dissertation titled “Physical Computing as a Means of Scientific Discovery.” She then completed her teaching internship at a Berlin high school before becoming an assistant professor of computer science education at the University of Hamburg in 2020.
Her research focuses on the question of what ideas about artificial intelligence students bring to the classroom and how these influence learning. She also conducts research on interdisciplinary STEM learning, data literacy, and collaborative learning in both K-12 and higher education.
Walid Maalej assumed the W3 Chair in Software Engineering and AI at the Faculty of Digital Engineering on February 1, 2026, as a joint appointment with the Hasso Plattner Institute.
Previously—after serving as a researcher at the Technical University of Munich and as a visiting professor in Italy and Singapore—he was a professor at the University of Hamburg, where he headed the entire Department of Computer Science.
Through his research, he aims to advance the development of trustworthy, human-centered software using AI, while integrating research, teaching, and technology transfer. He brings extensive expertise in technology transfer to this role: he has led more than 100 collaborative projects with industry, is actively involved in supporting startups, and serves as chairman of the board of the Hamburg-based technology transfer institute HITeC.
Matthias Weidlich assumed the W3 Professorship for Data Systems at the School of Digital Engineering on April 1, 2026, as a joint appointment with the Hasso Plattner Institute.
He earned his Ph.D. at the HPI in 2011 and, following positions at the Institute of Computer Science at Humboldt University of Berlin, Imperial College London, and the Israel Institute of Technology, now heads the new “Data Systems” research area at the Faculty of Digital Engineering, which is jointly supported by the HPI and the University of Potsdam.
His research focuses on the analysis of complex processes, such as treatment workflows in hospitals, global commodity flows and supply chains, and standardized methods for evaluating scientific experiments. To this end, he develops algorithms to monitor and evaluate these processes in real time.
Max Pfeffer was appointed W2 Professor of Bioanalytics and Data Science in the School of Health Sciences, effective April 1, 2026, in a joint appointment with the Fraunhofer Society (IZI-BB).
He studied mathematics at the Technical University of Berlin, where he earned his Ph.D. in 2018. Starting in 2023, he served as an assistant professor of Optimization on Smooth Manifolds at Georg-August University of Göttingen.
His research focuses on unsupervised machine learning, explainable artificial intelligence, dimensionality reduction, modeling, optimization, and their applications in biomedicine and quantum chemistry.
Sebastian Marquardt assumed the W3 Heisenberg Professorship in Molecular Biology at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences on April 1, 2026.
Previously, he was a group leader at the Universities of Lund and Copenhagen and held research positions at Harvard Medical School and the Whitehead Institute at MIT.
He heads the Marquardt Laboratory at the Institute of Biochemistry and Biology at the University of Potsdam. His research lies at the intersection of RNA biology, gene expression, and epigenomics, with a particular focus on how the non-coding genome contributes to the functions of eukaryotic cells.