Dana Branzei

Prof. Dr. Dana Branzei serves as Research Professor at University of Duisburg-Essen within the Faculty of Biology and Research Center One Health Ruhr (appointed 2025). Her internationally recognized work focuses on DNA repair mechanisms and their critical role in cancer development and therapy.

Professor Branzei's research investigates how cells repair DNA damage and integrate repair processes with genome duplication and chromosome assembly within the replisome. Her breakthrough discovery of error-free DNA damage tolerance mechanisms provides fundamental insights into cancer predisposition genes and chemotherapy-induced genomic instability. This work bridges molecular biology, genomics, and clinical oncology to address core questions in disease mechanisms.

Her scientific achievements have been recognized through:

• Humboldt Professorship 2025 (5 million euro award)
• ERC Consolidator Grant (2016)
• ERC Starting Grant
• Romania's Order of Cultural Merit

Professor Branzei's research group operates within the interdisciplinary Research Center One Health Ruhr, combining Faculty of Biology resources with University Medicine infrastructure. The Humboldt Professorship funding supports cutting-edge investigations into cell division disorders and DNA repair mechanisms, with strong emphasis on translational cancer research. Prospective students gain access to UA Ruhr's collaborative network and state-of-the-art medical biotechnology facilities.

The Research Center One Health Ruhr functions as an international hub for mechanistic disease research, particularly focused on disorders of cell division. Under Professor Branzei's leadership, this center integrates natural sciences with clinical medicine to develop innovative approaches for understanding and treating cancer at the molecular level.