1,500 € per month to work on doctoral topics
Last year, the board of our supporting association decided to endow a scholarship to support prospective doctoral students. With 1,500 € per month, university graduates can be supported to work on doctoral topics that are professionally related to the research topics of our institute.
The scholarship's namesake, Prof. Dr. Günter Reich, came to our institution, which was then called the German Leather Institute, as head of research in 1956 after completing a tanner's apprenticeship and studying chemistry. From 1967 to 1992, he headed the institute as its director and had a decisive influence on its fate. Prof. Reich made an international name for himself above all with his applied collagen research and with the fundamental investigations of synthetic tanning agents. It is also largely thanks to his commitment that the institute was able to make the leap into the market economy with German reunification and establish itself under the changed social and economic conditions.
Yesterday was the day: our first Günter Reich scholarship holder met our former institute director. Celin Fiebiger (MSc) studied "Pharmaceutical Biotechnology" at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences. With the financial support, she is currently preparing her dissertation on the topic of "Developments for the production of hollow spheres from collagen and collagen derivatives", in keeping with the spirit of our namesake. The collagen-based hollow spheres, populated with cells, are to serve as in vitro models for pulmonary alveoli on which drugs or vital functions can be tested.
left to right: Professor Dr Michael Meyer, Celin Fiebiger, Professor Dr Günter Reich, Dr Ina Prade, Marcus Adelmann
Marcus Adelmann hands over grant notification to Celin Fiebiger
Three generations of Leather and Collagen Science
The scientific exchange between the two was also joined by Marcus Adelmann, chairman of the board of our supporting association and managing director of Hewa Leder GmbH in Zug, Dr Ina Prade, head of the biology research department and Professor Dr Michael Meyer, our institute director - three generations of leather and collagen.
We thank Prof. Reich and Marcus Adelmann for the visit and wish Celin much success in her work!