Hanna G. Zimmermann

Hanna G. Zimmermann is a Junior Professor for "Applied Research of the Visual System" at the Einstein Center Digital Future (ECDF) and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin since June 2022. She leads an interdisciplinary retina research lab at the Experimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC), a collaboration between Charité and the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine.

• Education: Studied physical engineering (medical physics) at Berlin University of Applied Sciences (formerly Beuth) and earned a doctorate in medical sciences at Charité.

Her research focuses on retinal changes caused by neurological and vascular diseases (e.g., multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, stroke, cardiovascular disease). By leveraging digital technologies like AI and deep learning, her team analyzes retinal images to develop cost-effective diagnostic tools for early disease detection, risk assessment, and therapy monitoring. Key applications include predicting MS relapses via retinal ganglion cell layer thickness and investigating vascular damage in post-COVID syndrome.

Zimmermann emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration, integrating medical, scientific, IT, and optometry expertise. She advocates for digital literacy in medical education and aims to popularize retinal exams in primary care settings for broader disease prevention.