Young academics

Comittee on Equality and Career Support Young academics

Who we are and what we want to achieve:

Science benefits from the contributions and different perspectives of many. This also applies to immunology. Therefore, it is a goal of the DGfI to see, include and promote all talents. This means that women and men should have equal opportunities for their careers in science, whether they have families or not. Many know from their own experience that there is still work to be done, but statistics and studies on the subject also clearly show it.

The Commission for Gender Equality and Career Support brings together DGfI researchers who are committed to this issue. We have a particular focus on those who are in the challenging phase after their doctorate up to their first professorship. There is a great need for concrete knowledge and moral support.

As a commission, we meet regularly to discuss these issues again and again, to think of supporting measures and to implement them as effectively as possible.

We see three main tasks:

Increase visibility for female immunologists and create awareness of the challenges of a career in the context of family and work, whether for men or women.
Networking support
Being a contact for questions, encouragement and empowerment

The Commission

Speakers

Charlotte Esser
Johannes vom Berg

Members

Friedericke Berberich-Siebelt
Niklas Beyersdorf
Christine Falk
Ingrid Haas
Yvonne Samstag
Evelyn Ullrich

Personal mentoring

Many universities now offer mentoring, from which young scientists can benefit greatly. Nevertheless, there are career-specific or “immunology-specific” questions for which a confidential conversation with an experienced colleague in immunology can be helpful.

We would like to address such questions. Feel free to contact us:

PD Dr. rer.nat. Friederike Berberich-Siebelt
AG Leiterin, Molekulare und zelluläre Immunität
Pathologisches Institut, Universität Würzburg

Prof. Dr. med. Christine Falk
Institut für Transplantationsimmunologie,
Medizinische Hochschule Hannover

Prof. Dr. med. Yvonne Samstag
Universitätsprofessorin für Zelluläre Immunologie
Leiterin der Sektion Molekulare Immunologie am Institut für Immunologie
Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg

Dr. Johannes vom Berg
AG-Leiter
Institut für Labortierkunde (LTK)
Universität Zürich

If you would like counselling:
Write an email to the person of your choice with your personal details (short CV), mentioning your wish for counselling and information on how to reach you by phone. Then a telephone conversation can be arranged individually. The commission members count on a wide network within the DGfI and thus are able to draw on a broad basis for answering your questions.

EFIS Diversity Task Force

The impact of COVID‐19 lock‐downs for European (female) immunologists – our views as members of the EFIS gender and diversity task force

Click on the article title to read more.

Wiley Online Library

The EFIS Diversity Task Force, initiated in 2019 by EFIS, addresses the persistent under-representation of women and ethnic minorities in immunology.

Meanwhile, 13 countries are represented in the Diversity Task Force. The spokesperson is Günnur Deniz from Instanbul. Charlotte Esser, immunologist at the Leibniz Institute for Environmental Medicine and professor at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, represents the DGfI. The task force has set itself the task of initiating and coordinating activities that support the goal of greater diversity – in terms of gender, ethnicity or social origin – in immunology. All activities of the Task Force are carried out in coordination with the EFIS Board.

An important first task was to address inequalities that have been exacerbated by the Corona pandemic for immunologists since the beginning of 2020. The findings from this research were published in the EJI in December 2020.

Database Women in Immunology

Gender imbalance has long been a problem in science. Women immunologists are still underrepresented in leading positions. To facilitate the nomination of women as speakers, chairs and committee members at immunology meetings and as experts in decision-making bodies, EFIS is compiling a comprehensive and easily accessible database of women researchers in Europe with expertise in immunology.

External Events

ECI2021 Special Session: Women and Men in Immunology WMI.1
September 3, 2021 / 17.15 – 18.30

Chairs: Olivera Finn, USA & Talal Chatila, USA
Akiko Iwasaki, USA: Dissecting immune response to SARS-CoV-2
Paola Ricciardi-Castagnoli, Italy:
Why the COVID Pandemic Has Affected so Much Research Work among Women

Online Seminar: Gleichstellung an Hochschulen – Diskriminierungsschutz und familienfreundliche Arbeitsbedingungen
07 September 2021, 09:30 – 12:45 Uhr

Das Online-Seminar widmet sich der Gleichstellung an der Hochschule aus dem Blickwinkel des Arbeitsrechts. Es wird ein Überblick über die gesetzlichen Regelungen zum Schutz vor Diskriminierung im Arbeitsverhältnis gegeben. Dabei werden die bestehenden Handlungsmöglichkeiten, die Adressaten und die Grenzen des rechtlichen Schutzes aufgezeigt. Ein weiterer Schwerpunkt des Online-Seminars liegt darin, die rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen aufzuzeigen, die für die familienfreundliche Gestaltung von Beschäftigungsbedingungen an der Hochschule gelten.

Weitere Informationen: https://www.dhvseminare.de/diskriminierungsschutz_online-seminar (Teilnahmegebühr für Nichtmitglieder 139 €)

Online Seminar: Female Researchers and the Path to Professorship (in German)
22 September 2021, 9:00 am – 1:30 pm

In this online seminar, advisors will draw on their own experiences to give practical tips the qualification phase, on successful applications, and on smart negotiations.

More information and program here. (Participation fee: 159 €)