Professor Niessen becomes the new Vice Rector for Research in Cologne!

Professor Niessen becomes the new Vice Rector for Research in Cologne!

Today is a day that could go down in the history of the University of Cologne: Professor Dr. Carien Niessen was elected Vice Rector for Research on September 8, 2025. The election was carried out by the university election assembly, which is made up of members of the Senate and the University Council. Her vice-rectorate starts on October 1, 2025 and succeeds Professor Dr. Claus Cursiefen, who is leaving office after two years at his own request. Cursiefen is leaving the office after successfully completing the Cluster of Excellence competition, a significant step for the university.

Niessen has big plans: She wants to promote the expansion of excellent research at the university and particularly focus on early identification and funding of promising research projects. Dr. Frauke Gerlach, Chairwoman of the University Council, and the Rector, Professor Dr. Joybrato Mukherjee, congratulated Niessen on her election and expressed optimism about her future work at the forefront of research activities.

Insights into Niessen's research

Niessen is not only an experienced researcher, but also the spokesperson for the CECAD Cluster of Excellence, where she works on aging research at the Medical Faculty. Her area of ​​expertise revolves around the cell biology of the skin. The department she leads aims to improve the understanding of cell structure and its influence on the function of epithelial barriers. Particularly exciting is her focus on the formation and maintenance of the multi-layered epidermal skin barrier and how biomechanical networks can lead to disease.

Niessen's research focuses on how regulators of cell architecture interact with signals that control metabolism, inflammation and growth. The results could be of great importance for medicine as they could help lay the foundations for new therapies. Especially with regard to skin health, this opens up a wide range of possibilities for developing future treatment methods.

Cologne and the Excellence Strategy

What does Niessen's election mean for the University of Cologne in the context of the German university landscape? The university is part of the Excellence Strategy, which is intended to strengthen research at German universities. A look at other excellent universities in Germany shows that the University of Bonn has the largest number of clusters of excellence, followed by the Technical University of Dresden and other renowned institutions. These clusters of excellence are a sign of the high quality of research and the international networks that these universities maintain.

With Niessen at the forefront of research, the University of Cologne could also play a federal role in these rankings. Your commitment to early funding and innovative research approaches could be crucial to moving the university forward and enabling new collaborations at an international level.

The coming months promise exciting developments at the University of Cologne. Niessen has the opportunity to not only advance her own research, but also to develop the university's full potential. It will be exciting to see what impulses will come from her.