Katja Becker

Becker studied medicine at Ruprecht Karls University in Heidelberg, Germany, from 1984 to 1991. In 1988 she received her doctorate (summa cum laude) under the tutelage of R. Heiner Schirmer. The topic of her dissertation was "Glutathione reductase and its apoenzyme: contributions to malaria chemotherapy and to diagnosing FAD deficiencies" (German: Glutathionreduktase und ihr Apoenzym: Beiträge zur Chemotherapie der Malaria und zur Diagnostik von FAD-Mangelzuständen). She completed her university professor qualification (German: Habilitation) in 1996 in the field of biochemistry at the medical faculty of the University of Heidelberg.

After completing her medical residency at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford and the University Hospital of Basel, Becker gained clinical and research experience in Nigeria and Ghana and worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Sydney. She qualified as a medical specialist in biochemistry at Heidelberg University in 1998.

Becker subsequently worked as a senior research fellow at the Biochemistry Center of Heidelberg University. In 1999 Julius Maximilians University in Würzburg appointed her to an associate professorship in the Research Center for Infectious Diseases (German: Zentrum für Infektionsforschung).

In 2000, Justus Liebig University in Giessen appointed her to a full professorship in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Interdisciplinary Research Center (German: Interdisziplinäres Forschungszentrum für biowissenschaftliche Grundlagen der Umweltsicherung (IFZ)).{{cite web |title=Biochemistry and Molecular Biology |url=http://www.uni-giessen.de/faculties/f09/institutes/institute-for-nutritional-sciences/units/becker?set_language=en |url-status=dead}} Most of her research focus is on the role of oxidative stress and antioxidative protective mechanisms during disease development and on developing new drugs to fight tumorous and infectious diseases, especially malaria.{{cite web |title=Research focus |url=http://www.uni-giessen.de/faculties/f09/institutes/institute-for-nutritional-sciences/units/becker/researchfocus |url-status=dead |access-date=2016-03-04 |archive-date=2016-03-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311072253/http://www.uni-giessen.de/faculties/f09/institutes/institute-for-nutritional-sciences/units/becker/researchfocus }}{{Cite web | url=http://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/person/1419231?language=en | title=DFG - GEPRIS - Professorin Dr. Katja Becker}} In 2006 she spent six months at the Scripps Research Institute for a research stay.

From 2000 until 2005, Becker was a member of the Junge Akademie, part of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and the Leopoldina Academy.{{cite web |author=Die Junge Akademie |title=Die Junge Akademie: Details |url=http://www.diejungeakademie.de/mitglieder/details/jamembers/show/member/31/ |url-status=dead |access-date=2016-03-04 |archive-date=2016-03-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311123303/http://www.diejungeakademie.de/mitglieder/details/jamembers/show/member/31/ }} Since June 2009 she has been a full member of the Leopoldina Academy, one of its youngest so far.{{cite web|url=https://idw-online.de/de/news318277|title=JLU-Professorin Katja Becker in Leopoldina gewählt}}

On 21 October 2009 Becker became the first woman ever to be elected to the vice presidency of the University of Giessen, serving her three-year term from 1 November 2009 to 31 October 2012.{{cite web|url=https://idw-online.de/de/news340101|title=Prof. Dr. Katja Becker zur Vizepräsidentin gewählt}}

Since 2014, Becker has been the coordinator of DFG Priority Program 1710, "Dynamics of Thiol-based Redox Switches in Cellular Physiology."{{cite web |title=Dynamics of Thiol-based Redox Switches in Cellular Physiology |url=https://www.thiolswitches.de/ |url-status=dead |access-date=11 July 2018 |archive-date=29 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629134914/http://www.thiolswitches.de/ }}{{cite web|url=http://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/237042534|title=Projects funded by the DFG (GEPRIS)|access-date=11 July 2018}} Since 2018 she has been the coordinator of the LOEWE Center DRUID (Novel Drug Targets against Poverty-related and Neglected Tropical Infectious Diseases) as part of the Hessian State initiative to fund academic-economic excellence (LandesOffensive zur Entwicklung Wissenschaftlich-ökonomischer Exzellenz - LOEWE).{{cite web |title=LOEWE-Zentrum DRUID |url=https://www.uni-giessen.de/fbz/fb09/institute/ernaehrungswissenschaft/prof/becker/druid |url-status=dead |access-date=11 July 2018 |archive-date=29 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629024211/http://www.uni-giessen.de/fbz/fb09/institute/ernaehrungswissenschaft/prof/becker/druid }}{{cite news |title=New LOEWE Center DRUID Researches How to Fight Tropical Diseases (German) |url=https://wissenschaft.hessen.de/presse/pressemitteilung/neues-loewe-zentrum-druid-forscht-zur-bekaempfung-von-tropenkrankheiten |url-status=dead |access-date=11 July 2018}}

On 3 July 2019 Becker was elected as president of the German Research Foundation, thereby becoming the first female to hold this post. In the year-long selection process, she won over Wolfgang Marquardt and Dorothea Wagner.Tilmann Warnecke (July 1, 2019), [https://www.tagesspiegel.de/wissen/praesidentenwahl-dreikampf-um-die-dfg-spitze/24512596.html Präsidentenwahl: Dreikampf um die DFG-Spitze] Der Tagesspiegel. She had been vice president of the German Research Foundation since 2014.

Becker is a member of several scientific and political advisory boards, works as an expert reviewer, and organizes academic conferences, including the following:

• Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2020)[https://www.humboldt-foundation.de/web/board-of-trustees.html Board of Trustees] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408035115/http://www.humboldt-foundation.de/web/board-of-trustees.html |date=2014-04-08 }} Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
• German Future Prize, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2020)[https://www.deutscher-zukunftspreis.de/de/der-preis/kuratorium Board of Trustees] Deutscher Zukunftspreis.
• Fritz Thyssen Foundation, Member of the Scientific Advisory Board (since 2020)[http://www.fritz-thyssen-stiftung.de/ueber-uns/organe/wissenschaftlicher-beirat/ Scientific Advisory Board] Fritz Thyssen Foundation.
• German National Academic Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2020)[https://www.studienstiftung.de/organisationsstruktur/kuratorium/ Board of Trustees] German National Academic Foundation.
• Center for Infectious Diseases (ZINF), University of Würzburg, Member of the Scientific Advisory Board (2016–2019)[https://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/zinf/sab/ Scientific Advisory Board] Center for Infectious Diseases (ZINF), University of Würzburg.

For her research and teaching activities, Becker has won multiple awards, including the following:

• 1989 – Ludolf Krehl Prize, awarded by the Southwest German Society of Internal Medicine (for her dissertation)[https://www.aerzteblatt.de/pdf/87/11/a870.pdf Ludolf Krehl Prize award announcement for 1989] in Deutsches Ärzteblatt 1990
• 2003 – Carus Medal, awarded by the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina{{cite web|url=https://idw-online.de/de/news70830|title=Carus-Medaille für Prof. Dr. Katja Becker-Brandenburg}}
• 2010 – Rudolf Leuckart Medal, awarded by the German Society for Parasitology (for her work on energy metabolism in pathogenic parasites such as the malaria pathogen){{cite web|url=http://www.dgparasitologie.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=57&Itemid=58|title=Ehrungen / Preise|author=Administrator}}

• {{Citation |last1=Becker |first=Katja |author-link=Katja Becker |last2=Engelen |first2=Eva-Maria |last3=Vec |first3=Miloš |title=Ethisierung - Ethikferne: Wie viel Ethik braucht die Wissenschaft? |place=Berlin |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co.KG |date=1 January 2003 |edition=1st |pages=243 |language=de |url=https://www.thalia.de/shop/home/artikeldetails/A1000493623 |isbn=9783050082219}}
• {{cite book |last1=Becker |first1=Katja |author1-link=Katja Becker |last2=Seltzer |first2=Paul M. |title=Apicomplexan Parasites: Molecular Approaches toward Targeted Drug Development |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |series=Drug Discovery in Infectious Diseases |volume=2 |edition=1st |date=February 2011 |location=Weinheim |pages=550 |language=en |url=http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-3527327312.html |isbn=978-3-527-32731-7}}

• {{Citation

| last1 = Kanzok | first1 = Stefan M.

| last2 = Fechner | first2 = Anke

| last3 = Bauer | first3 = Holger

| last4 = Ulschmid | first4 = Julia K.

| last5 = Müller | first5 = Hans-Michael

| last6 = Botella-Munoz | first6 = José

| last7 = Schneuwly | first7 = Stephan

| last8 = Schirmer | first8 = R. Heiner

| author8-link = R. Heiner Schirmer

| last9 = Becker | first9 = Katja

| author9-link = Katja Becker

| title = Substitution of the thioredoxin system for glutathione reductase in Drosophila melanogaster

| journal = Science

| volume = 291

| issue = 5504

| pages = 643–646

| date = 26 Jan 2001

| language = en

| doi = 10.1126/science.291.5504.643 | pmid=11158675}}

• {{cite journal

| last1 = Becker | first1 = Katja

| author1-link = Katja Becker

| last2 = Savvides | first2 = Savvas N.

| last3 = Keese | first3 = Michael

| last4 = Schirmer | first4 = R. Heiner

| author4-link = R. Heiner Schirmer

| last5 = Karplus | first5 = P. Andrew

| title = Enzyme inactivation through sulfhydryl oxidation by physiologic NO-carriers

| journal = Nature Structural Biology

| volume = 5

| issue = 4

| pages = 267–271

| date = April 1998

| language = en

| doi = 10.1038/nsb0498-267 | pmid=9546215| s2cid = 20607289

}}

• {{cite journal

| last1 = Perez-Jimenez | first1 = Raul

| last2 = Li | first2 = Jingyuan

| last3 = Kosuri | first3 = Pallav

| last4 = Sanchez-Romero | first4 = Immaculada

| last5 = Wiita | first5 = Arun P.

| last6 = Rodriguez-Larrea | first6 = David

| last7 = Chueca | first7 = Ana

| last8 = Holmgren | first8 = Arne

| author8-link = Arne Holmgren

| last9 = Miranda-Vizuete | first9 = Antonio

| last10 = Becker | first10 = Katja

| author10-link = Katja Becker

| last11 = Cho | first11 = Seung-Hyun

| last12 = Beckwith | first12 = Jon

| author12-link = Jon Beckwith

| last13 = Gelhaye | first13 = Eric

| last14 = Jacquot | first14 = Jean P.

| last15 = Gaucher | first15 = Eric A.

| last16 = Sanchez-Ruiz | first16 = Jose M.

| last17 = Berne | first17 = Bruce J.

| last18 = Fernandez | first18 = Julio M.

| author18-link = Julio M. Fernandez

| title = Diversity of chemical mechanisms in thioredoxin catalysis revealed by single-molecule force spectroscopy

| journal = Nature Structural & Molecular Biology

| volume = 16

| issue = 8

| pages = 890–896

| date = 18 November 2009

| language = en

| doi = 10.1038/nsmb.1627| pmid = 19597482

| pmc = 2745927

}}

• Fritz-Wolf, Karin; Kehr, Sebastian; Stumpf, Michaela; Rahlfs, Stefan; Becker, Katja: Crystal structure of the human thioredoxin reductase–thioredoxin complex. Nature Communications 2:383, 2011. [https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms1382 doi: 10.1038/ncomms1382].
• Krieg, Reimar; Jortzik, Esther; Goetz, Alice-Anne; Blandine, Stèphanie; Wittlin, Sergio; Elhabiri, Mourad; Rahbari, Mahsa; Nuryyeva, Selbi; Voigt, Kerstin; Dahse, Hans-Martin; Brakhage, Axel; Beckmann, Svenja; Quack, Thomas; Grevelding, Christoph G.; Pinkerton, Anthony B.; Schönecker, Bruno; Burrows, Jeremy; Davioud-Charvet, Elisabeth; Rahlfs, Stefan; Becker, Katja: Arylmethylamino steroids as antiparasitic agents. Nature Communications 8:14478, 2017. [https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms14478 doi: 10.1038/ncomms14478].

{{Reflist}}

• {{DNB-Portal|120316390}}
• [http://www.uni-giessen.de/faculties/f09/institutes/institute-for-nutritional-sciences/units/becker/staff/katja-becker Curriculum vitae of Katja Becker], Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Justus Liebig University
• [http://www.academia-net.org/profil/prof-dr-katja-becker/1133587 Katja Becker] in the database of renowned academics from AcademiaNet
• [https://www.uni-giessen.de/faculties/f09/institutes/institute-for-nutritional-sciences/units/becker/publications List of Katja Becker's publications] from the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology group's website
• [http://www.diejungeakademie.de/aktivitaeten/interdisziplinaere-zusammenarbeit/abgeschlossene-ags/ag-ethik-in-den-wissenschaften/ Membership in the workgroup "Ethics in Science"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819174007/http://www.diejungeakademie.de/aktivitaeten/interdisziplinaere-zusammenarbeit/abgeschlossene-ags/ag-ethik-in-den-wissenschaften/ |date=2016-08-19 }} of the Jungen Akademie
• {{google scholar id|Y2LbDxgAAAAJ}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Becker, Katja}}

Category:German biochemists

Category:German molecular biologists

Category:Living people

Category:German women biochemists

Category:1965 births

Category:Physicians from Heidelberg