Chemist Carolin Müller, medical scien­tist Carolin Schnei­der and psychol­o­gist and neuro­sci­en­tist Sofie Valk receive the award

The three new winners of the Hector Research Career Devel­op­ment Award have been announced: chemist Carolin Müller, medical scien­tist Carolin Schnei­der and psychol­o­gist and neuro­sci­en­tist Sofie Valk will receive the award, with which the Hector Fellow Academy is support­ing the research careers of promis­ing scien­tists in the post-doctoral phase for the fifth time in a row. The expert jury announced the names of the winners in Heidel­berg on 24 January 2025.

The Hector Fellow Academy funding format is aimed at partic­u­larly talented young researchers from the natural sciences, engineer­ing, medicine or psychol­ogy who have already honed their scien­tific profile and taken their first career steps. They can apply once a year for the Hector Research Career Devel­op­ment Award (Hector RCD Award). In addition to one-off support for their research totalling 25,000 euros, those who convince the jury also receive funding for a doctoral position includ­ing 9,500 euros for research funds per year and become a member of the Hector Fellow Academy for five years.

‘This award is far more than finan­cial support — it is a gateway to a broader acade­mic network and invalu­able inter­dis­ci­pli­nary exchange. It creates new oppor­tu­ni­ties for collab­o­ra­tion and scien­tific growth, strength­en­ing the impact of my research,’ explains award winner Carolin Müller. Carolin Müller has been Assis­tant Profes­sor for the Theory of Electron­i­cally Excited States at the Compu­ta­tional Chemistry Centre at Friedrich-Alexan­der-Univer­sität Erlan­gen-Nürnberg since Novem­ber 2023. As a theoret­i­cal chemist, Müller researches the fasci­nat­ing world of light-induced processes. Her research focuses on decipher­ing the molec­u­lar mecha­nisms behind these phenom­ena. In doing so, Carolin Müller pursues a digital chemistry approach that combines quantum chemistry methods with data science. Her aim is to optimise light-driven processes in a targeted manner, thereby improv­ing reactiv­ity and efficiency.

Award winner Carolin Schnei­der, a doctor and junior profes­sor of digital medicine at RWTH Aachen Univer­sity, is also highly motivated to advance her research disci­pline, inter­nal medicine, through the use of the latest artifi­cial intel­li­gence tools. She is partic­u­larly inter­ested in gastroen­terol­ogy. Carolin Schnei­der says she feels ‘very honoured’ to receive the Hector Research Career Devel­op­ment Award. ‘This recog­ni­tion highlights the impor­tance of using innov­a­tive approaches in digital preci­sion medicine to address complex challenges in hepatol­ogy and oncol­ogy. It is an incred­i­ble motiva­tion to continue explor­ing new paths in digital medicine.’ With the support of this award, she hopes to inves­ti­gate the genetic basis of bile duct cancer (cholan­gio­car­ci­noma) and its inter­ac­tion with lifestyle and environ­men­tal factors. By trying to uncover the mecha­nisms that lead to the devel­op­ment of this rare type of cancer, she hopes to contribute to the devel­op­ment of effec­tive preven­tion and treatment.

Psychol­o­gist Sofie Valk is the third winner of the Hector Research Career Devel­op­ment Award. She is head of the Lise Meitner Research Group at the Max Planck Insti­tute for Human Cogni­tive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig, research group leader at the Insti­tute of Neuro­science — Brain and Behav­iour at Forschungszen­trum Jülich and at the Insti­tute of Systems Neuro­science at Heinrich Heine Univer­sity Düssel­dorf. The young scien­tist is research­ing how the struc­tures and functions of the brain are shaped by innate and environ­men­tal factors over the entire lifes­pan. For example, environ­men­tal factors such as sleep, stress or social inter­ac­tion shape the brain. The social environ­ment, which plays a central role in human learn­ing and well-being, is of partic­u­lar research inter­est to Valk. She is looking forward to becom­ing a member of the Hector Fellow Academy: ‘I am excited to learn and inter­act with the other Fellows and continue my inter­dis­ci­pli­nary discus­sions on mind and brain in health and disease.’

The funding for a doctoral position associ­ated with the award has once again been met with great enthu­si­asm by the award winners this year. The job adver­tise­ments will be published in the coming weeks and inter­ested candi­dates will have the oppor­tu­nity to apply.

The Hector RCD Award is aimed at partic­u­larly talented young researchers from the natural and engineer­ing sciences, medicine or psychol­ogy who have already sharp­ened their scien­tific profile and taken their first career step. With the award­ing of the new awardees, seven­teen Hector RCD Awardees are currently members of the Hector Fellow Academy.