Univ.-Prof. Dr. med. Katrin Amunts

Director C.&O. Vogt Institute of Brain Research, acad. degree: Medical Specialist in Anatomy


Katrin Amunts is a full professor for Brain Research and director of the Cécile and Oskar Vogt Institute of Brain Research at the Heinrich-Heine University (HHU) Düsseldorf and director of the Institute for Neurosciences and Medicine - Structural and Functional Organization of the Brain (INM-1, Research Centre Jülich). Since 2016, she is the Scientific research director of the European flagship, the Human Brain Project.

Katrin Amunts is the programme speaker of the Helmholtz Joint Lab 'Supercomputing and Modelling for the Human Brain' (SMHB) and coordinates the programme 'Decoding the Human Brain' of the Helmholtz Association Germany. Since 2017, Katrin Amunts is co-speaker of the graduate school Max Planck School of Cognition. Since 2018, she is a member of the International Advisory Council 'Healthy Brains for Healthy Lives'. In 2016 she became a member of the National Academy of Science and Engineering (Acatech) and in 2017 of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences. She is the director of the Master's programme Translational Neuroscience at HHU Düsseldorf. She was member of the German Ethics Council from 2012-2020.





Research interests

Neuroscience, human brain mapping, cytoarchitectonics, Big Data analytics, neuroanatomy of language and ethics

Vita

1981-1987 Studies of biomedicine & biophysics, Diploma in 1987, Pirogov Institute Moscow
1987-1991 Scientific assistant, Research Centre Dummerstorf
1989 Doctorate (Dr.med.), Moscow International University
1992 Research associate, Frauenhofer Institute, Berlin
1992-1999 Research associate, C.&O. Vogt Institute of Brain Research, Heinrich-Heine-University (HHU) Düsseldorf, Germany
1999-2008 Head of research group 'Brain Mapping', Institute of Medicine, Research Centre Jülich
2000 Habilitation in Anatomy, HHU Düsseldorf
2004-2008 Professor (C3) for Structural-Functional Brain Mapping, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, RWTH Aachen University
since 2006 Member of the professional society 'Organization for Human Brain Mapping' (OHBM), from 2006-2013 programme chairperson
since 2006 Member of the Board of Trustees of the European Academy for Women in Politics and Business (EAF)
since 2007 Editorial Board, Brain Structure and Function
2008-2011 Handling Editor, later Section Editor, 'Anatomy and Physiology', Neuroimage
2008-2013 Professor (W3), Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University
2009-2012 Strategy Board of RWTH Aachen University
2012-2020 Member of the German Ethics Council, vice chair since 2016
since 2012 Speaker of the programme 'Supercomputing and Modelling for the Human Brain', Helmholtz Association
since 2013 Professor (W3) for Brain Research and Director of the C.&O. Vogt Institute of Brain Research, HHU Düsseldorf, and Director of the Institute for Neurosciences and Medicine, INM-1, Research Centre Jülich
since 2013 Speaker of the programme 'Decoding the Human Brain', Helmholtz Association
since 2016 Chair of the Science and Infrastructure Board (SIB), EU-FET Flagship 'The Human Brain Project' (HBP)

Awards

  • Federal Cross of Merit (1st Class)
  • Hector Science Prize
  • James Bull Lecture Award (British Society for Neuroradiology)
  • Member of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences and Arts (Natural Sciences and Medicine)
  • Member of the German Academy of Science and Engineering (Acatech)
  • Business Insider: Elected as one of the 50 most important scientists
  • MIT Technology Review: "key player" and the high-resolution brain model "Big Brain" was electe as one of the ten most influential technologies of the year
  • Member of the German Ethics Council, 2012-2020, vice chair since 2016
  • competitive Helmholtz junior research group

Committees

  • Speaker of the Helmholtz Joint Lab 'Supercomputing and Modeling of the Human Brain'.
  • Speaker of the programme 'Decoding the Human Brain', Helmholtz Association
  • Member of the founding commission for a founding directorate of a new AI institute, Hertie Foundation
  • Member of the Helmholtz Pandemic Expert Group
  • Chair of the Presidential Commission on §217 StGB, NRW Academy Düsseldorf
  • Member of the Committee for Scientific Libraries and Information Systems of the DFG
  • Expertise on neuroenhancement for the 8th Report on the Elderly of the German Federal Government
  • Member of the Steering Committee and speaker of HIBALL
  • Member of the Steering Committee of the Helmholtz Artifical Intelligence Cooperation Unit (HAICU Local)
  • Member of the Advisory Board 'd|u|p' of the De Gruyter publishing group
  • Member of the Scientific Steering Committee 'Global Brain Consortium'
  • Member of the International Advisory Council 'Healthy Brains for Healthy Lives', Canada
  • Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Organization of Human Brain Mapping (OHBM)
  • Co-speaker of the graduate school Max Planck School of Cognition, with Prof. A. Villringer
  • Head of Subproject 2: Human Brain Organization, The Human Brain Project (HBP)
  • Managing Director of the Cécile and Oskar Vogt Institute of Brain Research
  • Member of the Ethics Advisory Board of the National Cohort

Memberships

  • German Anatomical Society
  • German Neuroscience Society
  • Society for Neuroscience
  • Organization for Human Brain Mapping
  • Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics
  • Women's Bridge East West e.V.
  • GFFU of the HHU e.V.
  • Association of Friends and Sponsors of Research Centre Jülich
  • German University Association
  • Rotary Club Jülich (Duchy of Jülich)

Editorial activity in professional journals

  • Journal of Brain Structure and Function (Editorial Board)
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