The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) has appointed Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Jeanette Erdmann as a member of the Permanent Senate Commission on Basic Questions in Genetic Research.
Jeanette Erdmann studied biology in Cologne and completed her doctoral thesis at the Institute of Human Genetics in Bonn. After her doctorate, she worked as a research group leader in Berlin and Regensburg. She completed her habilitation at the University of Regensburg. Since 2003, she has been working at the University of Lübeck. In 2012, she was appointed DZHK professor for life. Since 2013, she has successfully led the newly founded Institute of Cardiogenetics, which aims to better understand the genetic factors that lead to cardiovascular diseases, e.g., atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction.
The Permanent Senate Commission on Genetic Research advises the DFG’s Executive Committee and Senate, but also – in accordance with the DFG’s statutory mandate – parliaments and authorities on issues relating to genetic research, genetic engineering and their effects. The Permanent Senate Commission on Genetic Research thus deals with areas in which research policy tasks exist, where there are deficits in the discussion and where developments in genetic research are apparent that raise scientific, ethical, legal and social questions.
The Commission consists of scientists from various German universities. The Commission was founded in 1994 and has issued statements on predictive genetic diagnostics and recommendations on human stem cell research, among other things.