Research / 02.09.2021
Dr. Michael Frieser is named new Administrative Director of the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH)

On June 24, 2021, the BIH Governing Board confirmed Dr. Michael Frieser as the new Administrative Director of the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH). He succeeds Andrea Runow, who has held the post since January 1, 2019, and is now retiring. Dr. Michael Frieser, 55, who currently heads the Administration Division at the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut in Langen, brings more than 20 years of experience in science administration to the position. He will take up the new post on September 1, 2021.

Christian Luft, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), expressed his delight at the confirmation of Dr. Michael Frieser: “We are thrilled that in Dr. Michael Frieser we are gaining an experienced scientific manager for the BIH. We are confident that together with Professor Baum he will continue to drive the BIH forward on its successful course. We wish him all the best in his new role.”

Steffen Krach, the Permanent Secretary for Higher Education and Research of the State of Berlin, concurred that the appointment of Dr. Michael Frieser as the BIH’s new Administrative Director was an excellent choice: “With his many years of experience in science administration, Dr. Frieser is eminently qualified for the role in the Board of Directors of the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité. I wish him together with Professor Baum every success in advancing the strategic development of the BIH. With the successful integration into Charité and the finalization of leadership changes, the BIH is now ideally positioned going forward to strengthen Berlin as a health and research hub on an enduring basis, while also translating scientific discoveries more quickly into benefits for patients.”

A wealth of experience in relevant areas

In his new role Frieser will be in charge of all business and administrative operations at the BIH while, together with Professor Christopher Baum, Scientific Director and Chair of the BIH Board of Directors, also being responsible for management of the Institute. Christopher Baum, who is also the Chief Translational Research Officer of Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, welcomes his new colleague to the Board of Directors: “I very much look forward to working with Dr. Michael Frieser. He brings a wealth of experience from an area that is extremely relevant for the BIH: The Paul-Ehrlich-Institut is closely involved in the authorization of vaccines and novel drugs, which also play a major role at the BIH. His experience will also help us to work even more effectively in this future-oriented field.”

Dr. Michael Frieser is also looking forward to his new duties: “The BIH’s mission of quickly translating findings from the lab to patients is something that is very close to my heart. I’m pleased to be able to bring to bear my experience in Berlin.”

An administrative specialist with a PhD in biology

Dr. Michael Frieser studied at the Federal University of Applied Administrative Sciences in Cologne, graduating with a degree in public administration in 1988. He then studied biology at Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU). His thesis, which he completed in the clinical research groups of the Max Planck Society, dealt with rheumatology and connective tissue research. He earned his doctorate from 1994 to 1996 at the FAU’s Institute for Experimental Medicine with a dissertation on the endothelium, the innermost cellular layer of blood vessels. Immediately thereafter, he joined the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut (PEI), Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedicines, in the Hessian city of Langen, where he initially headed its Information Technology Unit. He held various other positions at PEI before becoming the head of the Administration Department in 2003.

Dr. Michael Frieser is married and has two children, aged 13 and 16.