Elke Schäffner

Prof. Dr. Elke Schäffner, MSc is a W3 Professor for Nephrology and Health Care Research at the Institute of Public Health (IPH), Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, where she serves as Deputy Director since 2017. She is actively involved in the Berlin Initiative Study (BIS), focusing on the epidemiology of chronic kidney disease in older adults, and contributes to editorial and supervisory roles in academic programs.

Education

• Doctoral Degree (1995), Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
• Approbation (1999), Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
• Master of Science in Epidemiology (2002), Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, USA
• Specialization in Internal Medicine (2005) and Nephrology (2007)
• Habilitation in Internal Medicine (2008)

Research Interests

• Renal epidemiology, particularly in older adults.
• Epidemiology of chronic kidney disease (CKD) through the Berlin Initiative Study (BIS).
• Health services research, including dialysis outcomes and practice patterns (e.g., DOPPS Country Investigator).
• Methodological and meta-research to advance public health and nephrology studies.
• Policy and legislative research in nephrology, such as the German Transplant Registry.

Academic Leadership

• Editorial Board, American Journal of Kidney Diseases (AJKD) (2022–present)
• Co-Director, Centre Virchow-Villermé for Public Health Paris-Berlin (2013–present)
• Steering Committee member, German CKD Study (2010) and KfH-funded network of cohort studies (2010).

Professional Memberships

• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nephrologie
• Deutscher Hochschulverband
• European Dialysis and Transplant Association
• American Society of Nephrology
• European CKD burden consortium
• CKD Prognosis Consortium
• International Network of Chronic Kidney Disease Cohort Studies (iNET CKD)