The VAAM, an association of German-speaking scientists with a research focus on microbiology, is one of the largest and most significant expert associations in the area of life sciences. "I am very happy that the presidency of the VAAM is held by a woman for the first time," affirms Professor Oskar Zelder, vicepresident of the VAAM, "With her diverse research interests, Ruth Schmitz-Streit will successfully represent our association." Professor Karin Schwarz, vice-president for Research at Kiel University evaluates the renowned position: "Ruth Schmitz-Streits's appointment as president of the VAAM is not only a great personal honor but also a further acknowledgement of the successful work being carried out at the science location Kiel."
With their decision, the VAAM members voted for an especially experienced and versatile scientist as their head: Schmitz-Streit's research activities range from the regulation of the nitrogen metabolism of bacteria and archaea to the nitrogen cycle and the identification of new active substances of the ocean to studies of host-microorganism-interactions. She is active in various committees and research networks at Kiel University. Furthermore, she is spokesperson of the priority program (SPP) 2002 "Small proteins in prokaryotes, an unexplored world." The SPP 2002 has been funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation, DFG) since 2017.
About the VAAM:
The Association for General and Applied Microbiology unites approximately 3,500 microbiologically oriented scientists. Founded in 1985 in Wuerzburg, the association promotes the scientific exchange of information and the collaboration of its members with the aim of implementing research results from microbiology for the benefit of society and the environment.
About Ruth Schmitz-Streit:
Ruth Schmitz-Streit (born in 1965) studied biology at the University of Marburg and in 1992 completed her doctorate on the subject of enzymes containing molybdenum and tungstate in methanogenic archaea with Rolf Thauer. Afterwards she had a two-year postdoc working at the University of California, Berkeley, in Sydney Kustu's laboratory on the regulation of nitrogen fixation in Klebsiella pneumoniae. In 1996 she returned to Germany to the Institute of Microbiology and Genetics at the University of Göttingen, where she finished a habilitation in the field of microbiology with Gerhard Gottschalk in 2001. From 2001 to 2004 Ruth Schmitz-Streit worked as an independent group leader and Heisenberg Fellow at the University of Göttingen. Since October 2004 she has been a C4 professor for molecular microbiology at the University of Kiel.
Links:
www.vaam.de Association for General ans Applied Microbiology e.V. (VAAM)
www.mikrobio.uni-kiel.de/de/ag-schmitz-streit Molecular biology of microorganisms (working group Schmitz-Streit), Institute of General Microbiology, Kiel University
Contact:
Prof. Ruth Schmitz-Streit
Molecular biology of microorganisms,
Institute of General Microbiology, Kiel University
Telephone: 0431 880-4334
E-Mail: rschmitz@ifam.uni-kiel.de
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