Prof. Dr. Doris Wedlich

Division I — Biology, Chemistry, and Process Engineer­ing, Karlsruhe Insti­tute of Technology

Doris Wedlich, found­ing member of the Hector Fellow Academy and long-time profes­sor of zoology at the Karlsruhe Insti­tute of Technol­ogy (KIT), passed away on Septem­ber 20, 2020.

Doris Wedlich was Profes­sor of Zoology and Head of Division at the Karlsruhe Insti­tute of Technol­ogy (KIT). In the latter function she was respon­si­ble for research, teach­ing and innova­tion in the scien­tific disci­plines of biology, chemistry and process engineering.

In her research, she mainly focused on the molec­u­lar under­stand­ing of cell migra­tion with a special focus on the cross-regula­tion of Wnt-signal­ing and cell adhesion. Her team provided impor­tant contri­bu­tions to the functions and mecha­nisms of the canon­i­cal Wnt pathway. Today, its activa­tion via mutation is a reliable indica­tor for colon carcinogenesis.

Doris Wedlich was awarded the Merckle Research Prize and the Baden-Württem­berg Research Prize for her research. She was a member of the Council of the Research Data Alliance, a global operat­ing organi­za­tion for the protec­tion and free use of scien­tific data, and a member of the German Council of Science and Human­i­ties from 2012 to 2018.