Professor Michael Brand Honored with the Order of Merit of Germany

Professor Michael Brand, research group leader and founding director of the CRTD, has been honored with the Order of Merit of Germany for his extraordinary scientific work in the fields of stem cell research and developmental genetics. As the intellectual father and driving force of the Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden (CRTD), he has significantly shaped biomedical research in Dresden.

Michael Brand, professor of the Cluster of Excellence CRTD and Biotechnology Center (BIOTEC) of the Technische Universität Dresden, has been honored today by the Bundespräsident of Germany, Joachim Gauck, with the Order of Merit of Germany (Bundesverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse). He was awarded the Order of Merit today by the Prime Minister of Saxony Stanislaw Tillich, on behalf of Bundespräsident Gauck. With this award, the Federal President honors people who have contributed extraordinarily to the common good in the areas of politics, social affairs, economy, science, and culture.

Professor Michael Brand is the founding director of the DFG Research Center and Cluster of Excellence for Regenerative Therapies of the Technische Universität Dresden. The official laudation for the award states: “He is recognized as an outstanding scientist whose work has influence far beyond Dresden and Saxony. He is the intellectual father and driving force of the Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden (CRTD) and is collaborating with other world-leading scientists to develop options to cure currently incurable diseases. Through his extraordinary scientific contributions to the areas of stem cell research and developmental genetics, Professor Brand has achieved outstanding merits for medical research in Dresden, Saxony and the Federal Republic of Germany. He is the initiator of developments that enabled Dresden to become a world-leading research hub for biomedicine and bioengineering. With his outstanding commitment and persistent dedication, he has significantly contributed to a now lively, fruitful network that has been established here in the fields of Biotechnology and Regenerative Medicine.”

Professor Michael Brand was deeply impressed by the ceremony: “It is a great honor and pleasure to receive such an important award for something I love to do anyway. I always felt personally committed to advance research in the field of Regenerative Biomedicine. Researching the capacity for tissue regeneration, and thus to find innovative way for curing diseases, is of outstanding importance in this quest. For me, this award also reflects the recognition of the efforts of many of my coworkers and colleagues at CRTD, BIOTEC, and TU Dresden as a whole, and shows how effective structural measures and innovation in science can be at the university."

Press Contact
Franziska Clauß
Press Officer
Phone: +49 351 458 82065
e-mail: franziska.clauss@crt-dresden.de

Founded in 2006, the DFG Research Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden (CRTD), Cluster of Excellence at the TU Dresden has passed the third phase of the Excellence Initiative which aims at promoting top-level research and improving the quality of German universities and research institutions. The goal of the CRTD is to explore the body's self-healing potential and to develop completely new, regenerative therapies for hitherto incurable diseases. The key areas of research include haematology and immunology, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases and bone regeneration. At the moment, eight professors and ten group leaders are working at the CRTD – integrated into an interdisciplinary network of 87 members at seven different institutions within Dresden. In addition, 21 partners from industry are supporting the network. The synergies in the network allow for a fast translation of results from basic research to clinical applications.