Promotion of young talent

Young scientists lay the future foundation for excellent research work. We need them to advance research into multiple sclerosis, because the disease is still far from being fully understood. The KKNMS would therefore like to support young doctors on their path into science and encourage them to pursue their careers in neurological research.

The KKNMS is committed to promoting young talent with two programs:
– Young Talent Award of the Eva and Helmer-Christoph Lehmann Foundation
– SEED Scholarship

Lehmann Prize

Young Talent Award of the Eva and Helmer-Christoph Lehmann Foundation

The Eva and Helmer-Christoph Lehmann Foundation, under the umbrella of the Haspa Hamburg Foundation, has set itself the task of advancing MS research through financial support. Above all, it wants to support young doctors on their way into science. Since 2012, the KKNMS and the German Neurological Society (DGN) have therefore awarded the MS Young Talent Prize every two years on behalf of the foundation. It is endowed with 5,000 euros and is aimed at young scientists under the age of 35 who have conducted original research in the field of multiple sclerosis. The focus is on work with a translational therapeutic character, which has led to a high-ranking publication.

Current invitation to apply
The application deadline for this year’s prize is June 15, 2024.
You can find the application form here:

Previous award winners

• 2022
  Dr. Silke Häusser-Kinzel (Institute of Neuropathology, University Medical Center Göttingen): Proinflammatory CD20+ T cells contribute to CNS-directed autoimmunity” published in Science Translational Medicine
• 2018
  Dr. Klarissa Hanja Stürner (Department of Neurology at the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein): A Standardized Frankincense Extract Reduces Disease Activity in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (The SABA phase IIa trial) – published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry
• 2016
  Dr. Kerstin Göbel (Department of General Neurology, University Hospital Münster): Blood coagulation factor XII drives adaptive immunity during neuroinflammation via CD87-mediated modulation of dendritic cells – published in Nature Communications
• 2014
  Dr. Tilmann Schneider-Hohendorf (Department of General Neurology, University Hospital Münster): VLA-4 blockade promotes differential routes into human CNS involving PSGL-1 rolling of T cells and MCAM-adhesion of TH17 cells – published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine
• 2012
  Dr. Anneli Peters (Center for Neurologic Diseases, Harvard Medical School Boston): Th17 cells induce ectopic lymphoid follicles in central nervous system tissue inflammation – published in Immunity

SEED Scholarship

Six months of research time for young scientists

Financial support in combination with a six-month leave of absence – that is SEED, the KKNMS scholarship program for young scientists. It is aimed at doctors in training up to the age of 34 and is endowed with up to 32,000 euros per project, with the KKNMS e.V. contributing a maximum of 75% of the project budget. The remaining share is to be borne by the scholarship holder’s employer, who also guarantees the scholarship holder six months’ leave of absence. The KKNMS wants to support young scientists in researching their own innovative projects and thus specifically promote their development.

Current invitation to apply
The application deadline for the SEED Scholarship 2019 expired at the end of July 2019. The award ceremony took place on September 26, 2019 as part of the KKNMS Symposium during the DGN Congress in Stuttgart. We will inform you about the next call for applications here in good time.

Application requirements

• The application is open to doctors in training in Germany under the age of 35.
• Previous publications must be proven (at least one first authorship).
• The SEED project is to be carried out in a designated working group.
• The scholarship holder’s employer must undertake to exempt the scholarship holder from routine care.
• The project should start within 12 months of approval.

Previous scholarship holders

• 2019
  Dr. med. Thanos Tsaktanis (Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich): Transcriptional control of tissue regenerative HB-EGF in autoimmune CNS inflammation
• 2017
  Dr. med. Elisabeth Schuh (Institute for Clinical Neuroimmunology, LMU Munich): The role of the NLRP3 inflammasome in multiple sclerosis and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis
• 2016
  Dr. med. Joseph Kuchling (Charité Berlin): High-resolution MR imaging of optic neuritis at 7 Tesla – new implications of differential diagnosis in neuroimmunologic disorders
  
  Publications
  Kuchling J, Backner Y, Oertel FC, et al. Comparison of probabilistic tractography and tract-based spatial statistics for assessing optic radiation damage in patients with autoimmune inflammatory disorders of the central nervous system. NeuroImage: Clinical. 2018; 19:538-550.